Digital Crisis 2: Fall of an Empire
by FrenchGeek5550
Summary: A new conflict is brewing in the Digital World. The numerous terrorist attacks and the Metal Empire's expansion is threatening the newly formed peace. The United Nations has sent a third expeditionary force to maintain that peace. However something more disturbing and dangerous is behind this tension, a plot to bring chaos. Will peace prevail or will war break out once again?
1. A Fragile Peace

Chapter 1:

A fragile peace

 _Digital World, 2022._

The digital sun was at its peak in the sky, its warm, golden rays reflected off the many steel and glass, monolithic skyscrapers in a shimmering glow. Fracture, the capital city of the Metal Empire, is one of the largest and most technologically developped city in the world. It is truly the very heart of the empire. It was the starting point of the wealthy and advanced empire, back when it was only a mere city state in a vast valley of rich natural ressources. Its economy is as strong as its military. The infamous D-Brigade, the backbone of the empire, is one of the most disciplined, trained and deadly military force the world as known. Producing the finest soldiers and officers, the D-Brigade is famous for being ruthless, adaptive and efficient; always winning every combat engagements it faced no matter the odds. That is why the Metal Empire, an autocratic and militaristic regime, is one of the most powerful and influential state of the Digital World. Even the Royal Knights, their political and military rivals, feared the Metal Empire, seeing them as a general threat to the world due to its military and economic expansions. Ruled by the intimidating and cold Chaosdramon, the regime is both admired and despised by other states, notably by the Council of Network Security which he saw as a weak and useless organisation. Imposing regulations and controls to the regime is a difficult and almost impossible task. It was easier to leave the Metal Empire alone than risking a provocation and later declare a war. Progress was made along the years but every digimon knew that there was nothing that could stop the regime from expanding its territories and conquer a large part of the continent.

That being said, in 2017 (human calendar for simplification), when the humans stepped foot in the Digital World, the empire saw a slow decrease of its power. First, there was the D-Brigade's humiliating defeat on January 2018 at its Southern border, where Japanese and American forces defeated a whole division of four thousand troops in their own soil. That battle showed the world that the regime can be fought back but it also showed the empire a worthy opponent: the humans.

It was a defeat but it allowed them to improve their tactics and strategies so they can counter-attack the humans; that was the purpose of that battle anyway, study and observe the humans in combat. However, the Royal Knights intervened and forced a cease fire; that was the humiliation.

Since the fall of the Imperium, their only ally, the Metal Empire received severe punishments and restrictions, imposed by the CNS, the Royal Knights, the Sovereigns and much more. Even the United Nations imposed its regulations and restrictions, infuriating Chaosdramon. And so the regime began to isolate itself on the market and from the outside world for a brief period, regaining its strenght, improving and developping new technologies as well as new tactics, weapons and equipment. This sudden and rapid arsenal expansion caught the eyes of the CNS and of the Royal Knights, whom now kept a close watch on the empire, afraid to stir the slumbering beast.

Unfortunately, that beast awoke and they weren't responsible for it.

* * *

 _August 2022, South-Western Region, Silver Trade Incorporation owned mine._

Blood splattered all over the dark wood floor boards, leaking profusely out of Ankylomon's slit throat. The other miners and workers flinched and looked away, trembling in fear as another one of their own was executed before them by the masked murderers. Makuramon, the chief executive of the mine, gulped loudly when the leader of the masked digimon walked back in front of him. The aggressor yanked the monkey's blood stained scarf closer to them.

"This is what happens when you refuse to cooperate with us!" The menacing digimon growled. "Now tell us the password to the safe!" They yelled at him, "We still have thirty more employees to kill to make you talk and we still have time to torture you!"

Makuramon cried pathetically and finally gave in, much to Andromon's protest. "Zero, Four, One, Nine! Please leave us alone!" He pleaded in tears.

His aggressor shoved him back on the floor and nodded at their associates. Two of them began to regroup the bound miners farther back in the mine while three of them began setting explosive charges around the mine.

Andromon, the company's last security officer, growled in frustration and glared at Makuramon. "You fucking idiot! Look at you've done! They're going to kill us all!" The other miners sobbed and prayed for the deities in panic, hoping for a slimer of salvation.

"You better shut that cog mouth of yours," The masked leader warned angrily.

They stepped up to the cyborg digimon and violently kicked his head to the ground, stomping on the wound on his chest. Andromon screamed in pain but he stared back at the digimon with disdain and defiance.

"You'll pay with your life for this!"

"Too bad you won't see it happen," The digimon replied coldly before they crushed Andromon's neck, cutting his windpines and flesh to mush.

They then gazed at the other frightened miners. Their icy purple eyes sent fear and dread in the miners, as if seeing a demon before them. The masked digimon smiled darkly. Walking back toward Makuramon, they lifted him up by the collar. They turned the trembling monkey around, facing his miners. He flinched when he felt the digimon's face inching behind his head, feeling their warm breath down his neck.

"Now, now... this nightmare is almost over, I promise..." They said with a menacing grin, "You believe me, right?" Makuramon shakingly nodded, driven by fear, "But it looks like your employees don't... how about you reassure them, hm? Go on, tell them that everything is going to be alright for them,"

His mouth quivered, unable to form up words in his mind. He wanted to cry, to pray to Yygdrasil for salvation and mercy. He stuttered but no words came out, just incoherent babbling. He felt the digimon's paw on his shoulder. Slowly, their claws dug in his skin. He winced and forced his mouth to work.

"E-e-everything is g-going to be f-fine... w-we'll be f-free after t-this..." He stated shakingly, feeling his blood drained out and sweat pouring down his face.

His statement did little to calm the miners. The other masked thugs chuckled at the miserable sight that was him. Makuramon jumped when the digimon's grip on his shoulders tightened. They scoffed and shook their head.

"Well, at least you tried... For that, I thank you for your cooperation, Makuramon. I hope you didn't have any regrets..."

"Wha-"

Makuramon's craking voice was drowned by the loud gunshot of a pistol. The miners whimpered in their corner, too afraid and shaken to scream in horror as the monkey's body fell forward, blood leaking out the back of the head.

"Let's wrap this up quickly, gents,"

Without a word they left the mine, leaving behind the terrified miners. The charges in the tunnel detonated and destroyed the support beams. The mine collapsed on itself, instantly killing the three dozen miners trapped in there.

"Did you get the documents?" The leader asked at a subordinate.

"Yes, sir!" They replied dutifully.

"Burn the rest to the ground." He ordered coldly. "And make sure to set traps around the perimeter, I want to cause as much damage as possible,"

His subordinates nodded in response and carried out his orders, destroying the mining facility to rubbles and ashes.

* * *

 _DSF Tactical Espionage, Assault and Reconnaissance HQ._

News of another terrorist attack on Metal Empire soil broadcasted on every television and radio in the building. Though the horrific attack was condemned by many, the Metal Empire's response to this incident unnerved the Council of Network Security. Chaosdramon formally decided to send troops to the South-Western border, to strenghten security and migration controls. He declared that all digimon will go through extensive inspection before entering its borders. The empire will only accept state representatives, diplomats, ambassadors and governmental envoys; any other digimon will be kicked out of the checkpoints until further notice.

This radical shift in foreign policy sparked a debate among the CNS. Chaosdramon has mobilized over eight thousand troops to the concerned border, which was more than enough to assure security.

The neighbouring state of the Sword Zone got worried and began amassing troops to the shared border, eventually creating a militarized zone and a very tense air. Since then, fearing an escalation, the CNS refused the Royal Knights' intervention to the matter and called upon the Digital World Security Force (its military force). The Tactical Espionage, Assault and Reconnaissance, a special forces unit of the DSF, was charged with investigating the attacks while maintaining an eye on the South-Western border, now dubbed the "Red Line".

Colonel Kaisergreymon, the current force commander of the tier one unit, sat down behind his desk, a cup of coffee in one hand, a document in the other. His office was bland, standard. A bosai tree was the only piece of decoration on his desk. A couple of pictures and medals of his service in the Republic of Node and later in the DSF were displayed to his right, just next to the file cabinets.

He sighed tiredly and placed the document down, taking the time to sip on his coffee. He opened the document and read it quickly. The document had basic information on a TEAR operative: their field experience, achievements, skills and personality. To him, he seemed to be an adequate candidate for the upcoming operation. It requires stealth, adaptability, discretion and speed, which they both had.

Light knocks interrupted his silence.

"Enter," His deep voice answered flatly.

Two digimon came in, the messenger Rapidmon and the operative: Lieutenant Gaioumon, an exceptional soldier and very skilled agent. With over fifty missions under his belt, ranging from deep reconnaissance, hostage rescues, raids to frontline combat, he became one of the most awarded operative in the force.

The two digimon stood straightly and formally saluted the senior officer, gazing over him stoically. He got up and saluted back in a more relaxed manner.

"Corporal, dismiss," Rapidmon nodded and left the room discreetly. Kaisergreymon leveled his gaze back at the operative, "At ease," Gaioumon relaxed, his hands entwined behind his back.

"How was your leave, Gaioumon?" The senior officer asked casually, taking a moment to drink his cup of coffee.

"Boring, sir," The black samurai replied flatly, making Kaisergreymon sigh in disappointment.

"Really? You didn't even bother to go sight-seeing, go out for once, see your family or meet new friends?" Gaioumon simply shrugged nonchalantly, "By the Heavens, you're acting like a machine!" He groaned in irritation, "Don't you have any hobbies or passions in your life?"

"Sir, I don't understand your point," Gaioumon asked with a raised eyebrow, "Did you call me to discuss about my personal life or did you call me for a mission brief?"

"I was kinda hoping both but since you're getting impatient I guess we'll just get to the point..."

"Thank you, sir,"

"Shut up..." Kaisergreymon muttered bitterly. "I have a special mission for you. It requires discretion, reconnaissance and high perception. This isn't going to be your standard op; there will be alot of paperwork and observations and hopefully no action. Do you think you're up for it?" He asked him.

"I'm ready for anything, sir," Gaioumon answered confidently, which made the colonel smile in satisfaction.

"Very well," The officer opened a drawer from his desk and pulled out a passport and an ID card, handing them to the operative, "I'm sending you to the "Red Line" for three weeks. I need eyes and ears over that border and make sure that nothing goes out of hand," He informed him. "The D-Brigade knows of your visit so they will act smart. I want it to stay as that. You'll also have a pass into the Metal Empire as a peace inspector, which means you can and will investigate the crime scene of the recent attack with the ME Police,"

"You want me to write a report on the attack?" Gaioumon asked curiously.

"Not just that, I want reports on everything that is happening over there. The CNS has made it clear that it does not want a war. Sadly, the Royal Knights will be there also, meeting with the ambassadors of the Metal Empire, the Sword Zone and ours at the embassy," Kaisergreymon explained, "You will also attend that meeting,"

"What if everything goes south?" Gaioumon asked nonchalantly.

"You'll have a QRF stationed a few klicks away from the complex," The black dragon warrior nodded in satisfaction. "Don't do anything stupid and do not interfere with the Royal Knights. You do your job, they do theirs and the world won't blow up," Kaisergreymon advised him with a frown, "Hopefully..."

"And if they do?" Gaioumon enquired.

"If, for whatever reason, they do interfere with the mission, then you'll have to act accordingly and reasonably. We do not know why they're over there or what they're up to. They are not supposed to be there in the first place. Any other question?"

"When do I leave, sir?" The operative asked.

"Tomorrow at 0700 hours. Pack your bags and good luck,"

Gaioumon sharply saluted him and spun around, heading for the door.

"Oh and one more thing!" Kaisergreymon called out rapidly, "You'll have another operative assisting you for this mission. He's a newbie but the kid's smart and has some guts. Sergeant First Class SaviorHackmon, he'll be waiting for you at Camp Tolkien tomorrow,"

Gaioumon looked back at his superior officer, "Why do I need a partner? I can handle myself pretty well,"

"True but not enough for this crucial mission. Remember, the stability of the DigiWorld is in your hands now, so I don't want any fuck ups," Kaisergreymon informed.

"There won't be if I worked alone," Gaioumon countered.

"Trust me, you're going to need a buddy out there and that is my final word on the matter. Like it or not, you will work with him, period," He gazed at the operative sternly.

The black dragon simply stared back, his facial features expressionless, "Aye, aye, sir," He responded and left the office.

Kaisergreymon sighed and ungracefully sat down on his seat, closing his eyes while his hands rubbed the sides of his head, "Oh, he can be such a prick sometimes..." He moaned in frustration.

* * *

 _Castle Albion, Eniac continent._

The conference room's lights shut off, only the screen provided a dim source of illumination for the Royal Knights as the mission briefing began. Stepping up front, facing the audience, was Karatenmon, current captain of the Stealth Force. Hanging at the back were Alphamon and Omegamon, present to answer any question after the presentation was over.

"After four months of searching and reconnaissance, we've obtained several critical informations on the situation in the Metal Empire. The terrorist organization known as "Shadow Brigade" is planning another attack in the coming week or so. One of my undercover agents managed to copy and leak this map..."

On the screen, multiple blueprints of military hardwares flashed in front of the knights before it displayed the map of the Metal Empire. Three red circles then appeared in specific coordinations, revealing their position.

"Those are the targets that the terrorists will attack; either at the same time or one at a time, the course of action is still unclear. However we do note that their recent attack on the mining company gave us a crucial clue: they are targeting the ME's nuclear program. We believe that, once we gathered all our evidence, the launch codes of the nuclear arsenal is their key target,"

"That is why we must intervene and stop them before they get their hands on the launch codes," Omegamon began with a serious tone, "The CNS doesn't want us over the "Red Line" but we need to act fast if we want to avoid another war. Karatenmon's agents were able to identify the leader of the organization and their base of operations..."

On cue, Karatenmon changed the slide to an aerial drone image of a digimon, "Their leader, identified as WereGarurumon X, is a carrier of the X-Antibody, a mutation virus that drastically alters a digimon, physically changing them and increasing their overall strenght, reflexes and power," Omegamon explained the knights calmly.

"So what are we waiting for? We have the location of their base, why not strike them hard and fast and be done with it?" An impatient and eager Dynasmon asked.

"Because their base is located in the Iron Forest, in the Metal Empire," Karatenmon answered as the projector displayed the map of a remote and forested area, "Going in there would probably cause the ME to declare war on us,"

"We must also discuss our diplomatic matter," Alphamon stepped up, gathering everyone's full attention, "As you may recall, a week ago, we managed to get the ME and the Sword Zone to the negociation table. Duftmon, Dukemon and I will act as mediators, we will discuss about reducing their military presence as well as following the CNS's requests, which includes the reduction of the ME's military fundings and armaments, reducing their nuclear arsenal and the inclusion of a free-trade space. In a nutshell, boring stuff that the rest of you won't participate," Dynasmon and Ulforceveedramon let out a sigh of relief in response.

"We will meet them at the embassy in Steelheim in two days. The Stealth Force will continue with the mission. I'm designating Examon and Rhodoknightmon as platoon leaders for our QRF, based in Sword Zone territory. If anything goes bad, or you suspect something in the border, either contact me or Karatenmon. You will act on your own if it is absolutely necessary," Alphamon instructed with authority in his voice, "We need to act accordingly and cautiously. We're already having problems with Chaosdramon and now the CNS, so one wrong move could lead to another global war,"

Craniamon raised his hand to catch Alphamon's attention. The leader of the Royal Knights nodded at him, "If I get this straight, we have identified their leader, found their base and probably know the target of their new attack but we aren't going to intervene _directly_?" The black knight simply shook his head in response.

"Can't we share the intel with the Metal Empire, perhaps? This could ease the tension between us and de-escalate the situation at the 'Red Line'," Sleipmon suggested. The other knights agreed with him.

"We may have enough proof for the Metal Empire to strike first but the question remains: why? Why are they attacking this specific state?" Omegamon countered reasonably.

"Who cares?" Dynasmon said with a shrug, "They're terrorists. Shouldn't we, _Royal Knights_ , stop them before they act?"

"I understand your feeling," The white knight replied calmly, "But the Stealth Force have discovered something interesting involving Chaosdramon and the terrorist group," He turned to the captain and nodded sharply.

Karatenmon changed the slide, displaying the blueprint layout of a large complex, probably a factory or a research centre.

"This is RD Site Omega-58. Shadow Brigade has kept a close watch on this research and development facility for months since their appearance. At first glance this looks like a military research centre, developing new weapons and equipment for the D-Brigade, but there's more to it," Karatenmon explained, "A whistleblower from this complex leaked sensible intel to the terrorist group before they "disappeared" days later. We managed to intercept the message and found out the true purpose of this facility... This is a cloning facility,"

"What?" Magnamon gasped in surprise.

"Chaosdramon is planning to expand his armed forces. We believe that there is a conspiracy going on, it is possible that all of this is staged or part of it. It is highly probable that Chaosdramon is looking for an excuse to declare war and invade another sovereignty," Karatenmon informed them bluntly.

"We could've sent this intel to the CNS but chances are they'll intervene with a military force that could quickly escalate to conflict," Alphamon explained, "We need a smaller force and discretion if we want to avoid that. So far, we are the only ones who've obtained this sort of info, no one else other than the terrorist group and the Metal Empire itself,"

"So what do we do with the humans then?" Dukemon asked curiously.

"We will keep them in the dark in the meantime. They'll arrive in the DigiWorld in seven days and will send a peace keeping force to the 'Red Line'. Metallife Kuwagamon has updated the current situation to the humans so they'll know what to expect and how to act. Are there any questions?" Silence was his only response, "In that case, everything that is said in this meeting stays between us, we can not risk sharing this crucial intel to any of our allies, is that clear?"

Everyone gave him a reluctant or wary nod, uncertain and uncomfortable with the level of discretion Alphamon was demanding. "You may dismiss," He stated calmly, prompting everyone to rise up and head out of the conference room.

Omegamon stood beside the black knight with his hands behind his back, quietly watching his fellow comrades leave the meeting while Karatenmon was extracting the files from the laptop on the desk to his USB drive. The silent captain then turned to the two remaining knights and formally saluted them before he exited the conference room.

Alphamon finally let go a weary breath, one that he didn't know until now he held onto. His white counterpart gazed at him with questioning eyes.

"Is there something bothering you, Alphamon?" He asked calmly and kindly.

A tired smile appeared behind his helmet as he stared back at his second-in-command and old friend, "Normally I would lie to you and say that everything's all fine and golly... but I'm too tired to do that..." He admitted sheepishly.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want you," Omegamon stated, "I'm just offering you an option to-" Alphamon cut him off by raising a hand.

"I know, I know, Omegamon... I can count on you for having my back and I thank you for that. It's just... Everything seems to be crumbling down once again. We just got over a decade long war and now another is on the verge to spark. I feel like... we're left on our own. All the progress we've made, our achievements, our accomplishments... everything we have sweat, bled and sacrificed for peace and justice in this world... all of that is thrown out the window like it didn't matter. We have taken one step forward but immediately took three steps back..." He stared into Omegamon's eyes, "Do you get what I mean?"

Omegamon silently stared back at him for a moment, then looked at his feet, trying to come up with a reasonable or comforting reply... but none came up. Instead, his mind is filled with doubt and apprehension. He gazed back at the black knight, using honesty as his reply.

"I'm afraid not... The world simply evolves, Alphamon, we can't completely control it or its future... But no matter what happens, I'm sure we will prevail with your guidance," He said with optimism.

"Tsk... you can cut with that bull crap, "Alphamon said bitterly, "The last part I meant," He clarified sheepishly, surprised by his sudden rudeness towards his friend.

Omegamon chuckled and gazed back at the other knight, "But I'm positive. Remember, Alphamon, you have a lot of allies around you, including _us._ You may be our leader but you're still our equal and a simple digimon,"

"I know..." Alphamon sighed, "I'm just mentally exhausted with everything that is going on... plus the amount of paperwork I must complete is just ridiculous. I swear the pile just keeps getting taller after I look away for one second!"

Omegamon laughed at his friend's rant, causing the other to chuckle aswell, "Perhaps I could recommend you a meditating session to ease your nerve, I personally know an excellent teacher," He proposed with a smile.

"Heh... maybe after the meeting in the embassy I might try it out..." Alphamon replied as they headed for the exit, "You'll be there, right?"

"If you want to," Omegamon replied.

"Then it's a date," He said jokingly.

"I don't think Venusmon would be too thrilled to know that you're cheating on her with me," Omegamon retorted with a sly grin.

"Shut up!" Alphamon replied frantically while blushing furiously, still embarrassed and shy to be in a relationship with the Digimon goddess of Love.

* * *

 _Camp "Tolkien", The 'Red Line', Sword Zone border._

The military base, previously built by humans, was quite large for an outpost. The camp was surrounded with three Hesco barriers tall high walls, barbed wire fences, concrete covers and guard towers. The camp sat on top of a hill, having a wide and clear sight of the Sword Zone/Metal Empire border.

The camp featured dozens of living quarters, a command and communications centre, a dining facility, a field hospital, two helipads, an armoury and munitions depot, a vehicle repair and maintenance pool and a large energy supply and storage facility. Gaioumon could tell that this was the main base of operations for the Sword Zone Armed Forces in the region.

Upon his arrival, the camp was bustling with activity as the soldiers performed their daily tasks. He lifted his deployment bag over his shoulder and marched down the helipad. At the bottom of the helipad, a SaviorHackmon waited patiently. A broad smile greeted the seasoned operative.

"Sergeant SaviorHackmon, reporting for duty, sir!" He saluted sharply, his chest puffing out and chin raised up.

Gaioumon saluted back curtly, "At ease, Sergeant,"

SaviorHackmon's posture relaxed and quietly followed beside the officer. Although young, the digimon does have an air of maturity and discipline. Gaioumon noted that his eyes showed a digimon with a dozen combat experiences under his belt, determined to accomplish a mission with dignity and duty. That was all he could deduce at first glance and from what he had read in the files. In another note, he also noticed that the digimon had a pair of black goggles or glasses, sleek and high-tech in design.

An obedient and determined soldier, one that would never question an order. The type of operative he disliked the most. The Ultimate-level digimon shot a curious glance at the senior digimon.

"Permission to speak, lieutenant?" He asked politely.

Gaioumon halted in his tracks and gazed at the sub-officer with mild annoyance, "Sergeant, you're a TEAR operative, not some grunt. When we're not on the field, you can speak freely and frankly with me. I may be out ranking you, but you're still an equal to me. Do you understand?" He explained bluntly.

"Affirmative... I just wanted to say that I'm honoured to be working with you, lieutenant," SaviorHackmon replied plainly.

"Right..." He scoffed in annoyance, "And call me by my name, you can drop the formalities," He turned around and resumed his trek toward their barrack, SaviorHackmon following right behind him.

"As you wish, lieu- Gaioumon,"

The white armoured digimon opened the door to their living quarter. Gaioumon went in first, taking a few steps ahead of him and observing the place. It was quite spacious for an outpost barrack, but he guessed that this was the luxury for being just next to HQ. The barrack had a small living room with a study area to the left. To the right were two doors, each a personal bedroom.

"Your room is the one on the left," SaviorHackmon informed him by pointing at the mentionned door, "It is big enough to sleep and to have some commodity. Quite cozy too," He added as a matter-of-fact.

Gaioumon nodded in silence and headed straight to his bedroom. He opened the door and inspected his room. His bed was a wooden cot with a thin mattress with a khaki sleeping bag on top of it. Next to his cot was a small nightstand and under it was a metallic footlocker. He rose an eyebrow and turned to SaviorHackmon, who stood a few meters behind him; hands behind his back with an innocent look on his face.

"This is cozy to you?" He asked informally, surprising the sub-officer for a moment.

"Well, it is better than mud or dirt," He answered sincerely, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine with this. But I think you should update your definition of 'cozy'," Gaioumon said bitterly as he dropped his deployment bag on the cot, "Want to grab dinner before we start working?" He asked plainly.

The white dragon man hesitated for a moment before he nodded quietly.

"Then lead the way,"

 _Silver Trade Incorporation owned mine, "Green Line", Metal Empire territory._

Everything has been burnt to the ground. Charcoal building carcasses were scattered in piles across the ashen ground. The mining site itself was completely blocked off, its main and only entrance collapsed. Dozens of ME military police troopers patrolled the site while police officers carried out their own search, digging through the numerous crime scenes.

Gaioumon and SaviorHackmon observed them from the checkpoint, taking a couple of notes while a MP guard inspected their identity badges.

"You're cleared to go," The Guadromon announced, "Just be very careful out there. Terrorists have planted multiple IEDs throughout the site," He warned them bluntly.

Gaioumon nodded and proceeded out of the checkpoint and onto the crime scene. A HiAndromon spotted them and walked towards them. The android digimon had a navy blue chestplate armour with "MP" and his rank insignia inscribed in white above his digicore.

"May I help you?" The police officer asked formally. Both TEAR operatives showed their identity badges. The digimon seemed displease but didn't express it, "Be careful where you step your foot, gents," He replied, letting them continue with their inspection.

SaviorHackmon stayed close beside Gaioumon, eyeing the HiAndromon suspeciously, "I have a bad vibe with this one," He whispered.

"Same. This whole site is highly secured for a crime scene," Gaioumon commented.

"Maybe it's because of the IEDs," SaviorHackmon guessed, observing a group of investigators as they dug in a pile of rubble.

"There are no bomb disposal squads in the area. Just a couple of soldiers with metal detectors but that isn't enough," The black dragon informed with certainty, taking notes of the behaviour of the soldiers.

"Should we split up?" His partner asked.

"I'll handle the invesgation, you take note of any suspecious activity and behaviour. Clear?" He instructed firmly.

"Five by five, lieutenant," SaviorHackmon replied before they parted ways.

Gaioumon walked toward a group of investigators, discussing among themselves. "Excuse me? Do you all have a minute?" All four police officers turned their attention at him, eyes curious upon seeing a civilian in the crime scene, "CNS peace inspector, I'm here to make a report on the current situation here," He informed them while showing his badge.

"Uh... okay," One of the officers, a Revolmon, replied nervously.

"What is the current and official casualty of this attack?"

"So far, we're 92% certain that 56 digimon were killed, either by the fire, the terrorists or the explosions," Another answered, a Nanomon, "We've been digging the mining site in search for survivors but nothing came for now,"

"Have you deduced or theorised the reason behind this attack?"

"It could be a raid for ressources for we know that several bit deposits have been stolen, about 400 000 bits. Or it could be an attack to hurt our economy," A third officer, a Metal Etemon, answered with a grunt, "We're on our own for this because the terrorists haven't left any message or evidence behind,"

"Indeed, they were methodical and smart; they must've planned this raid weeks ahead," A Lighdramon proposed.

"Have there been any suspects arrested or any leads?" Gaioumon enquired. For some reason, the investigators glanced at each other in silence.

"No...not yet as we speak," Answered Lighdramon, "We're currently searching any leads in this site and at the nearby villages, see if we can find any underground networks," He explained.

"Do you have a rough estimate when the raid started and how long it lasted?"

"Well... the local police station has been called to the site at 0200 hours. We arrived much later at 0700 hours after the site had been secured. From our search, we could determine that the raid happened at 0030 hours. The terrorists took the time to gather up the hostages, search thoroughly the buildings and set up the IEDs," Nanomon informed him.

"And has the site been cleared of IEDs?"

"Affirmative, that is why we can freely search and patrol the mining site," Revolmon said confidently.

A loud explosion erupted dozens of meters away from them. Everyone near the blast site dove for the ground and covered their heads as debris plummeted. A thick cloud of smoke and dirt rose to the air while the screams of the wounded echoed. Multiple soldiers quickly ran toward the blast site, medics sprinted to the gravely wounded with stretchers in hands.

Gaioumon and the four investigators rose up, the former glared at Revolmon. "I'll need an updated report on the current casualties... and call in a bomb squad before anyone else blows up a leg," He instructed them firmly.

All four investigators nodded obediently and called in the bomb squad. The black dragon walked away, filling in the last notes while searching for his partner. The sharp sound of metal blades hitting the dirt caused him to turn around. SaviorHackmon slowed down his pace and halted in front of Gaioumon.

"Are you alright, lieutenant?" He asked concernly.

"Yes... these tin cans didn't even bother to have a bomb squad station here," He commented dryly, "How was your find?"

"... _Interesting,_ to say the least, lieutenant,"

"Then you'll have to save it once we're out of here," Gaioumon cut in coldly, "HiAndromon has been eyeing us every since we got here,"

"Oh... you also noticed that," SaviorHackmon whispered, "So what's next in the agenda, lieutenant,"

"Write in our reports and tomorrow we'll head for Steelheilm to attend the peace summit and the evening dinner after that," Gaioumon informed the sergeant.

"A dinner? Sounds fancy," SaviorHackmon commented lightly.

"It is... but we are on a mission, so I expect you to stay professional and behave well. I'll give you more details about it once we're at the base,"

* * *

 _Eden Hotel, Steelheilm, Metal Empire._

Dukemon let out a surprised whistle as he took in the sight of the hotel's lobby while they waited for their respective room's keycard, "Wow, we're being treated like royals here," He commented with a broad smile, stunned by the sheer size of the hotel in addition to its pristine and fancy decorations. "Is this Council's doing?" He asked curiously to Alphamon.

"Nope... The CNS was generous enough to pay for our transport bills and tomorrow's event. The mayor is the one we should be thanking for," He explained plainly.

"Oh..." Dukemon sounded somewhat disappointed, "Too bad I'm on duty, though; this place could've been a great spot to spend a night or two," He said with a smile.

"Wait...Sakuyamon likes the luxurious lifestyle?" Alphamon asked with piqued interest and amusement.

"She may be modest, humble and prefers a cozy little cottage, but sometimes she enjoys the expensive gifts... I knew that the hard way," This caused the black knight to laugh while Duftmon rolled his eyes.

"If I need to remind you two, we're on a crucial diplomatic mission; now's not the time to talk about dates," He groaned bitterly.

"Of course, Duftmon, you're right," Alphamon agreed after suppressing his laugh, "But the summit only begins tomorrow at the embassy, not here. This is merely a temporary place for us to stay and relax and that is exactly what we're doing," He countered teasingly.

The tactician grunted in response but didn't add a remark. The receptionist arrived with three keycards. The Gatomon wore a lavender pillbox on top of her head, slightly tilted to her right, with a velvet scarf around her neck. Her cheerful smile shone as bright as her vibrant jade eyes. She handed the Royal Knights each their room's keycard.

"We hope you'll enjoy your royal suites, Sires!" She said cheerfully, "If you need anything, there's a phone right beside your beds and in the hallway," She informed them.

All three knights thanked the small feline digimon and headed straight for their respective rooms.

"Royal Suite, huh?" Dukemon mused, inspecting his keycard as they got in the elevator, "This can't get any better,"

"It won't," Duftmon said bluntly.

The white Hazard knight glanced at Alphamon. The other simply shrugged in response, not understanding Duftmon's unusually cold attitude... and that's saying something.

"Anyways... I propose that we drop off our stuff and discuss about tomorrow's meeting at a fine dinner table. Does that sound okay?" Alphamon asked.

"Yeah,"

"Hmm,"

Came the responses from his comrades. Alphamon nodded and picked up his luggage after the elevator reached their floor. "In that case, rendez-vous at the lobby in twenty minutes; get some rest while you still can... and that _is_ an order," He turned to Duftmon expectantly.

Alphamon inserted the keycard into the door's slot. The machine beeped, a small green light flashed above the doorknob. The digimon pushed it down and entered the royal suite. As expected, the room was spacious; too big for one digimon in Alphamon's opinion. The suite featured a king sized bed, neatly made with velvet silk cover and fluffed pillows. It would be lying if the bed didn't seem inviting to sleep the day off. On both sides of the bed were nightstands, one had a telephone to call in room service. To his right was a door leading to the bathroom and a closet room. Next to that door, facing the bed, was a small dresser and a mini fridge and a wide, thin television hanging just above them.

The black knight sighed tiredly. The ride in the Locomon had been long and exhausting. He placed his luggage on the bed and searched through it to fetch a document, detailing the summit's schedule and discussion matters. With twenty minutes to spare, he decided to take a nice warm shower to freshen himself up.

As the warm cascade soothed his aching muscles and troubled mind, Alphamon closed his eyes, breathing in steady, calm rythm to ease his nerves. Diplomatic missions were more exhausting and frustrating than fighting in a battle. Politics are an entire different battlefield. It is much more unpredictable yet easy to pinpoint the adversary's intentions... if you had the right intel and words that is. You could turn their own intentions against them and probably find a solution that would benefit both parties. That was what he had hoped anyway, a peaceful solution.

Though knowing Chaosdramon's foreign policy, it will be a tough battle; a challenge he gladly accepted.

 _"Find a solution, get through the day, enjoy the evening dinner and be home the next day... crisis averted and everyone's happy..._ " He thought to himself ironically.

* * *

 _Unknown Location..._

WereGarurumon X read over the report given to him by one of his subordinates. Everything was in its designated place. Each assets knew their role. Now's just a question of time. Tomorrow evening, ambassadors and representatives of the Metal Empire, Sword Zone, the CNS and the Royal Knights Order will be gathered in Steelheilm at the embassy. Multiple targets in one place. This also means that security will be tougher and tighter in the town, all ME forces in the region will be pulled over to protect the embassy. The other target locations will lose a portion of their defenses.

The operation will be quick, brutal and ruthless.

The mutated digimon grinned maliciously at the thought of the consequence once the operation begins. Chaosdramon will suffer a heavy blow in his empire and the world will soon start to tear itself apart once again.

The grand revolution is about to begin.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I'm back! So yeah, I've been absent for quite some time because I had to study and then pass my exam, which was a whole week of mental suffering and heat (It's so fricking hot right now in France! Weather, make up your mind!). I'm impatiently waiting for the results and hope I'll get my degree, if so, then next stop the army. I'll update more on that on my profile but fear not, with summer holiday on the way, I have the free time needed to continue with this story. Leave a review if you want, it will be appreciated and _à la prochaine! :D_**

 **P.S: ALLEZ LES BLEUS!**


	2. The Steelheilm Massacres

Chapter 2:

The Steelheilm Massacres

 _Steelheilm Embassy, Metal Empire._

To say that the embassy was overcrowded was an understatement. It was packed. ME police and soldiers were virtually in every corner around and inside the building. Ground and air forces frequently patrolled the area. A mass crowd of eager and impatient journalists was gathered at the front gate of the embassy, blocking the visitors' way. The soldiers forcefully pushed the reporters away, creating a passage between the sea of digimon as the Royal Knights' transport arrived, pulled by a formidable and intimidating AncientTroiamon.

"MAKE WAY!" AncientTroiamon ordered sternly, their voice boomed into the crowd and startled them.

Satisfied, the tall wooden digimon pulled the carriage through the gate and into the main courtyard. Once the knights were dropped off, they headed towards the embassy's main entrance. Two Knightmon stood guard beside the two doors. They saluted the incoming visitors and opened the doors for them.

Greeting them at the main hall was a Meramon with an non-flammable black bow tie around his neck.

"Welcome, Sires. Please take a seat while I inform the mayor of your presence," He told them while pointing at the sofas next to him.

The Royal Knights complied and waited patiently while Meramon went to get mayor Jewelbeemon. Alphamon obliged himself to take a seat on one of the sofas. The puffy cushion sank with his weight but he immediately felt comfort, sighing blissfully. If only he had tea right now.

Duftmon and Dukemon opted to observe the hall's decorations, admiring some of the paintings that were on display around them. The calm silence was then interrupted when the doors opened, letting two digimon in. All three Royal Knights turned around with curious gazes, catching sight of a Gaioumon and a SaviorHackmon.

Both newcomers halted their tracks in surprise for a moment before they respectfully bowed down.

"It is an honour to meet you, Royal Knights, to this summit," Gaioumon stated formally, "I'm Lieutenant Gaioumon and this is Lieutenant SaviorHackmon, we're CNS peace inspectors," He lied to them, not wanting reveal their true purpose or work.

"Oh? So you've arrived earlier than the representative?" Dukemon asked.

"Uh... the contrary actually," SaviorHackmon responded sheepishly, "We ran into some trouble on our way. These reporters were beginning to cause quite the traffic out there,"

"Uhm," Duftmon agreed quietly.

"Well you can take a seat if you guys want to. I bet it was difficult to get through them," Alphamon suggested kindly.

"We'll be fine just by standing, sire," Gaioumon replied humbly.

They nodded at each other and an awkward silence filled the hall, neither party didn't know how or where to start a conversation.

"So...um, nice weather we're having, huh?" SaviorHackmon spoke tentatively, feeling his cheeks blushing in embarrassment. Dukemon laughed lightly at the digimon's poor attempt to start a conversation. His partner, Gaioumon, stared at him with a deadpan look.

Thankfully for them, Meramon returned with Jewelbeemon tagging along. The mayor smiled politely at the visitors and bowed his head.

"Greetings, gentlemen, it is both an honour and pleasure to have you all in this important summit. Please follow me, the meeting is about to start," Jewelbeemon requested kindly and turned around, leading the five digimon to the first floor and into the meeting room.

Four other digimon officials were present in the room, chatting idly before the visitors arrived. The four officials were ambassador Andiramon of the Sword Zone, ambassador Angewomon of the CNS and ambassador PileVolcamon with Storm Commander Raijinmon of the Metal Empire. The digimon greeted each other quickly before they settled around the long, polished wooden table a the center of the room. The representatives of the Metal Empire and CNS sat on one side while the Royal Knights and the Sword Zone ambassador sat on the other. Jewelbeemon sat at the end of the table, between the sides. Being the host, he had the word to commence or end the summit. Once everyone have been served a glass of water, Jewelbeemon allowed the summit to commence.

* * *

Perched on a branch, hidden behind the thick leaves of a tree from the other side of the embassy, an Owlmon closely examined the building. His red eyes zoomed in on the first floor, spotting the digimon in the middle of a meeting. His eyes narrowed,metallic slits rapidly closed in and opened, changing Owlmon's vision to infrared. The eyes flashed briefly, contacting his superior.

"All targets present in the meeting. Security's tight in the courtyard, more than three dozen foot mobiles and a dozen tanks with four air assets patrolling the objective in a two kilometer radius. I've spotted twenty foot mobiles in the objective building along with fifteen non-combatants," Owlmon reported stoically, "Should we commence the operation?"

 _"Negative. Keep up with reconnaissance as planned and make sure that all ground assets are in correct position,"_ His superior instructed sternly.

"Copy that, resuming reconnaissance. Owlmon out,"

Owlmon spread out their wings and flew off, relocating to another observation spot to get better angles of the embassy's security detail. Being a relatively small digimon, Owlmon had ease to fly at low altitude without gathering any attention from other digimon. This also meant that they were able fly between buildings and narrow alleyways without much difficulty in addition of having the ability to turn their head in a 270 degree rotation. Virtually nothing escapes his sights.

About an hour passed and Owlmon moved away from the embassy by about two blocks. He glided towards the rooftop of an apartment and gracefully perched himself on the rusty, metallic railings. Quietly, he observed his surrounding, making sure he was alone on this rootop and not other digimon could see him. The whine of a rusty door caused his head to immediately turn, gazing at Baalmon neutrally.

The white assassin carried a long, black gun case, slung behind him. Baalmon walked toward the avian digimon and halted in his tracks, expecting Owlmon to speak.

"I've found two possible sniper positions for you. They're about five hundred meters to the East, four blocks away from the embassy. You should be able to have a clear line of sight on at least four targets, though there are a lot of windows, so you should be quick and accurate with your shots,"

"You don't have to tell me how I do my job, bird," Baalmon sneered, "Are my positions clear of ME soldiers?"

"Affirmative," Owlmon replied with a sigh, "You'll still be in range of air assets but with the cover of darkness, you won't get any problem,"

"When does the operation start then?" Baalmon asked impatiently, "I could easily kill the ambassador right now,"

"Sure you can... but you'll have to wait for now. Boss wants us to strike when the evening dinner starts," Owlmon said flatly.

"Then what's the point for you to find sniper positions if they're going to move to another room?" The assassin asked, now irritated.

Owlmon rolled their eyes while groaning, "Those positions are for the evening dinner, you git!"

Baalmon's eyes widened with realisation and although most of his face was hidden, Owlmon could tell his mouth was mouthing an "O".

"Heh, sorry about that. I'm just a little bit impatient right now," Baalmon said with a light laugh.

"Oh for the love of- Look, you wait for the signal then you can shoot at your heart's content..." Baalmon fist pumped in excitement as Owlmon said that, "But until then, you move your dumb ass over there, find your favourite spot and stay put while I go continue scouting around. Got it?"

"Got it!" Baalmon replied with a thumbs up.

"Unbelievable..." Owlmon muttered dryly, "Well, I'll see you later... don't fuck this up!"

Baalmon watched silently as the winged digimon flew away and out of sight. He stood there for several moment before he looked around, and brought his left hand to his ear.

"Shadow Actual, this is Sheep 0-1, just got intel when they're going to strike..." He reported dutifully, contacting Karatenmon, "We should intercept fast if we want to avoid a massacre this evening. Over,"

 _"Copy that, we'll start deploying ground teams in the area. Do you have any intel on their assets?"_

"Affirmative, they've got forty troops spread out through the district. Their targets are the embassy and the police station. Be advised: they're organized and armed with explosives, expect heavy resistance. Over," Baalmon informed the captain while he went down the staircases.

 _"How about the ME or the CNS?"_

"So far the D-Brigade isn't present, only ME reserves are here, at least a hundred troops and several detachments of armour and air units. I've been provided a sniper position. What are your orders, Shadow Actual?"

 _"Proceed with their plan and standby for mission update. Good luck, Sheep 0-1. Over and out,"_

Reaching the building's back exit door, Baalmon suddenly vanished into the shadows of the alleyway, moving towards his next objective point.

* * *

 _Back at the embassy,_

These past two hours had been exhausting for everyone. The first thirty minute had been quite calm but when the topic of reducing the Metal Empire's military and nuclear arsenal, tensions escalated rapidly. At the end, everyone left the room sour and bitter. Gaioumon himself rubbed his head as a headache started to build up.

Jewelbeemon nervously smiled at his guests, trying to calm the tensions down. "Well, although things didn't go so well, at least we can celebrate some of the progress we've made so far, right?" He asked nervously, gazing at his guests.

Andiramon glanced at Pilevolcamon then back at the mayor, "I guess a glass or two of champagne wouldn't hurt,"

Jewelbeemon looked at Pilevolcamon, who simply nodded, then at the Royal Knights and CNS investigators and ambassador, who expressed their agreement. "Very well! Our party guests should arrive soon, so why don't we head to the multipurpose room and begin the ceremony?" He stated with a beaming smile, guiding everyone towards the mentionned room.

The multipurpose room was soon filled with numerous guests, enjoying the fine dining and light air of the evening's event. Embassy waiters calmly walked among the digimon visitors, carrying plates of appetizers or glasses of wine and champagne. It certaintly did calm the tension between the ambassadors, now seen to be chatting with each other amicably.

Both Gaioumon and SaviorHackmon stood at a corner of the room, away from the guests, each with a glass of wine and the latter having a small, plastic plate of appetizers. While the black samurai seemed to be bored out of his mind, SaviorHackmon was a bit uncomfortable and nervous with the ongoing event. Normally he would reserve himself a glass of wine or appetizers in these sort of environments, namely because they were way too expensive for him. But now here he is, a glass of red wine and a plate of snacks in his hands, standing at a corner like an idiot.

"Appetizers, lieutenant?" He offered shyly.

Gaioumon looked at him, then at the plate and back at him. He grunted and took an appetizer, eating it in one go. "Too salty," He concluded, "But at least it's free for now,"

"Yeah..."

Silence fell between those two, drowned by the light and cheery chatter and laughter of the other guests. Gaioumon ungracefully emptied his glass at a nearby plant pot, placed the crystal glass on a tray of a passing waiter and gazed at SaviorHackmon.

"Want to do something productive?"

"Yes!" The sergeant replied too eargerly, more than he expected.

"Alright, you stay here and keep an eye on our guests. I'm going outside to get some fresh air," He said bluntly, much to SaviorHackmon's dismay. "And don't do anything stupid, got it?"

"Solid copy, lieutenant..." The Ultimate-level digimon replied.

Once the lieutenant was gone, he drank in one sip his wine and discreetly placed his plate back on the dining table. It may be a boring and probably unnecessary task, but at least it was a task, he had something to do, a goal to accomplish.

Slowly but confidently, he began to walk around the room, observing each guest from a distance, eyeing every corner and possible entrances. He occasionally looked out at the windows, only to see a patrol team doing its round. Eventhough he trusted the security force employed at the embassy, he was starting to have a bad gut feeling that something is about to happen, his instincts screaming urgently. Adrenaline started to pump in his streams in anticipation for action. This only signalled him to be more aware of his surroundings.

Discreetly, he pulled down his sleek black goggles. His vision blackened before it lit up and returned to normal, now a heads-up display appeared in his field of view. Numerous faint blue dots were scattered across his view, each pinning a digimon in his sight. On command, the goggles switched to another, highly specialized vision. The layout in his surroundings was blue, every digimon were now transparent silhouettes with their digicores highlighted in bright cyan. Highlighted in yellow were the electricity cables that ran through the building, like data streams in a digimon.

Looking around, he concluded that the power was still on, security alarms were on, soldiers were posted on the rooftop in teams of five. He resumed his little patrol, observing the crowd. So far, he went on unnoticed by the other guests. Well that was what he guessed.

Unbeknownst to him, Duftmon was already keeping a close eye on him, sensing his movement around the room. He had already informed his comrades of the inspector's activity. All three Royal Knights were huddled in a small group, keeping a low profile among the crowd.

"You think the terrorists are going to attack?" Dukemon asked in a low whisper.

"It is a possibility. They have plenty of HVTs gathered in a cluster. This could explain the inspector's behaviour," Duftmon explained as a matter-of-fact. Alphamon hummed in agreement.

"We should be ready then if an attack will occur," He instructed with a frown, "Top priority on the ambassadors, leave the military handle the rest,"

"Are sure this is a good idea?" Duftmon asked.

"I'm sure Raijinmon will act accordingly to protect them," The black knight responded.

Back with SaviorHackmon, he could see through the walls the soldiers getting agitated, sprinting right towards the room. The door bursted open as a Duramon rapidly walked towards Raijinmon, curtly apologizing the guests as he pushed them lightly. The TEAR operative kept close watch on him before he turned around. The soldiers seemed to panic, frantically sprinting to the front courtyard while the teams on the rooftop prepped up sniper rifles and radioed in air support. Then an explosion was heard a couple of blocks away from the embassy.

The guests let out surprised gasps as the building rocked lightly. Through the windows, he could see smoke rising to the sky. Zooming in on the rooftops of the buildings in front of the embassy, he could faintly catch sight of a digicore, well hidden in the shadows thanks to the moonless night. All of the sudden, the window cracked and he felt a searing, hot pain on his left shoulder. He winced and instinctively clutched the bullet wound.

Another explosion erupted, this time at the front gate. The embassy rocked violently, the guests screamed in fright. Then gunshots cracked in the air followed by soldiers yelling.

"Contact!"

"Get everyone at the back of the building. Call in evac asap!" Raijinmon ordered Duramon sternly.

More soldiers bursted through the door to evacuate the civilians out of the multipurpose room. The windows cracked and shattered as more projectiles shot through the crowd. A few were hit and gravely wounded, but so far no one died.

SaviorHackmon dove for the ground, avoiding another barrage of bullets. "Sergeant! SaviorHackmon!" He heard the lieutenant called out.

"Over here!" He shouted back.

Gaioumon spotted his partner and ran to him. He picked him back to his feet and pushed him out of the room with the Royal Knights behind them.

"Lieutenant, I've spotted a sniper, just across the street!" SaviorHackmon informed him urgently, "We can-"

"Yeah, well I've spotted dozens of hostiles coming in right now! So shut up and help me secure the back courtyard!" Gaioumon ordered sternly, lightly pushing away the panicked crowd of civilians.

SavoirHackmon pulled the goggles up, resting them on his helmet. Making their way through the kitchen, they were met with Jewelbeemon and his personal staff, fear clearly visible on their faces.

"Everyone, I want you all to prepare the safe room in case we need to use plan B, get all the guests to the back hall and wait until the soldiers have secured the area!" He ordered with a shaky voice. He spun around to meet the two inspectors, "What are-"

"Sir, we will take care of the back courtyard, get the guests to safety, lock every door and window and provide medical aid to any wounded, got it?" Gaioumon instructed firmly, leaving no room for further discussion.

The two operatives got out to the back courtyard where a dozen or so soldiers, mostly Commandramon, were assembled to form a defensive perimeter. Smoke grenades were thrown over the high stone wall that surrounded the embassy. The grenades popped and thick clouds of smoke started to fan out and obsure the soldiers' field of view.

"Get ready!" An officer shouted sternly.

Gaioumon waited in anticipation the wave of hostiles that will charge through the smoke. He then looked up and spotted a barrage of fireball plummeting on their position.

"INCOMING!" He yelled as loud as possible.

The soldiers looked up and frantically spread out, avoiding the rain of fire where possible. The fireballs hit their position hard, exploding on impact and spreading instantaneous flames. A couple of soldiers were directly hit by them, screaming in pain as they slowly burn to death. Others were thrown away by the sheer blasts. Barely able to recover from the barrage, multiple digimon charged through the smoke cloud and attacked nearby soldiers in surprise.

"Hostiles front!" A Commandramon yelled before their throat was ripped apart by a Fangmon.

Gaioumon drew out his Kikurin swords and immediately sliced the Fangmon that lunged at him. Blood slipped all over his armour while the lifeless and mangled body dropped beside him.

"Meteor Flame!" SavoirHackmon shouted, spewing out a burst of flames out of his mouth. The flames hit a Fugamon at center mass, burning them intensely until their flesh was charred. To put a quick end, the operative plunged the wristblade through their digicore, instantly killing them.

Gaioumon nodded at him before they joined the soldiers to clear and secure the back courtyard. The ensuing battle was brutal and savage, the terrorists held no mercy for the soldiers, nor did the latter had any to begin with. The security force was quickly outnumbered on both courtyards but they stood their ground. Soon, joining the two TEAR operatives in the fight were the Royal Knights, drastically changing the tide against the terrorists.

"Digitalize of Soul!" Alphamon's powerful beam shot through a Snimon, evaporating their whole chest and eliminating them.

The black knight spun around to look for an officer but found none. He then turned to Gaioumon. "Inspector!" He called out loudly, "Status report!" He demanded after he got the digimon's attention.

"Enemy have superior numbers. ME police station is still under attack so we have zero reinforcements. Nearby D-Brigade unit is an hour away from us. Air support should be here anytime soon," Gaioumon reported.

"Don't you have any QRF?"

"Affirmative, they're at camp Tolkien, ten minutes away but I haven't contacted them yET!" He dodged an electrical projectile shot by a Devidramon, "The embassy has a control room on the second floor!"

"We hold this courtyard until help has arrived. Duftmon, get to the control room and tell them to contact camp Tolkien for a QRF, ASAP!" Alphamon ordered sternly.

"Consider it done," Duftmon replied curtly and ran back to the embassy.

"Shit! Run!" He heard a soldier exclaim in panic.

Charging out of the dissipating smoke was a Rhinomon, affected by the X-Antibody, thus enhancing their strenght and power. The Armour-level digimon broke the defensive line, trampling and impaling nearby soldiers out of their way. They stopped in their tracks and growled as numerous soldiers opened fire. The bullets bounced off the superior Chrome Digizoid carapace armour, irritating the digimon. They spun their blade tipped tail around themselves, the sharp edges easily cut through the ranks, causing significant bleeding damage.

SaviorHackmon launched a rapid-fire burst of flames at Rhinomon, pinning them to the ground while Dukemon charges up his Aegis shield.

"Final Elysium!"

A holy beam shot out of the shield, slamming against Rhinomon's side, causing more searing pain, the holy attack burnt the armour onto their skin and flesh. Gravely wounded, the armoured digimon was still alive and kicking, literally. They bashed a Sealsdramon away, pounded a Commandramon to the ground before stomping their head, ending with a bloody mush of brain matter and bone fragments.

Distracted by the other soldiers, SaviorHackmon leapt towards Rhinomon and landed on their back. Unintentionally he held onto one of the bladed horns with his wounded arm. The operative hissed to suppress the sharp pain in his arm and stabbed with his other arm the wristblade into their back, piercing the thick layer of armour and cutting through flesh and bone. Rhinomon howled in agony as they suffer more stab wounds from SaviorHackmon. Furious, they growled savagely and rocked their body around, trying to throw the digimon off their back. But he held firm.

With his available arm and tail, he stabbed Rhinomon across their back and hind legs, trying to immobilise them and cause major bleeding. However he was slowly losing his grip on the digimon, he poised his wristblade to land a final blow through Rhinomon's skull. Unfortunately for him, with the constant and violent rocking and agitation, his flowing red cape was caught up on his face, blinding him completely. He gasped in surprise, missing his intended target by a meter and losing his grip. Rhinomon grunted with much effort and jolted his body forward, launching the blinded and cape wrapped SaviorHackmon into the air.

The operative landed head first on the dirt, feeling a throbbing pain on his forehead. Angry, he cut through his tainted and ragged cape.

"Stupid cape..." He muttered dryly.

He spun around just in time to see Rhinomon's body was beginning to glow as they charge straight for him. Swiftly getting back up, he deftly dodged Rhinomon's relentless charge, rolling out of the way before they could impale him. Rhinomon's was envelopped with a light barrier, expanding by the second before it exploded, consuming every digimon around them. The digimon consumed by the light were reduced to unstable data particles, blown away by the wind. Five lives were perished in a second.

Gaioumon ran towards Rhinomon, his swords poised to strike. The armoured digimon sensed the samurai, spinning in place to lunge their tail blade at him. The black samurai expertly dodged the strike, sliding pass Rhinomon. Now behind them and currently on the ground, Gaioumon stabbed their left hind leg. He rolled to the right to dodge another tail stab. The tail struck the ground beside him. He took the tail and severed it with one slash. Rhinomon roared out in pain. They turned their head to face Gaioumon. That was when Dukemon attacked, plunging the holy lance through their neck.

Blood shot out of the fatal wound as the tip of the lance stuck out from the other side. Rhinomon's motionless body fell to the ground, almost crushing Gaioumon with its immense weight.

"Thanks..." The samurai breathed out to the holy knight.

"They're starting to retreat..." Dukemon commented as the security force regained their ground, "Maybe we-"

Suddenly a powerful explosion erupted behind him. The blast shook the world around him violently, he could feel the intense heat licking his back. The shockwave was strong enough to push everyone in the area to the ground. Grunting in pain, Dukemon sat up and looked behind him. His golden eyes widened with shock as the embassy was now in flames, parts of the building caved in on itself. He could hear the screams of the civilians through the sound of battle.

"Duftmon..." He sprung to his feet and ran towards the burning building.

He broke in through the kitchen's window. He looked around for any survivors. The voices of the panicked guests could be heard, guiding Dukemon through the enflammed building. He called out to them in response, beckoning the survivors to come to him. Entering the main hall, he met the Meramon butler supporting a wounded Andiramon.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" He asked concernly to the ambassador.

"I'm fine, Sir Dukemon, just find the others quickly. There are still more down the hallway," She said weakly, urging Meramon to escort her out of the building.

Coming in through the multipurpose room was SaviorHackmon, startling the Royal Knight with his goggles on.

"What are you doing here?" The knight asked.

"I'm here to help you find the others. I can track them, it would be easier for the both of us so I suggest you stick with me," SaviorHackmon said flatly. Dukemon shrugged and followed the operative through the hallway.

They searched through the rooms, breaking down doors and guiding the survivors out of the building. Fortunately, they were able to find the mayor and both remaining ambassadors, which all three were lightly injured. The other guests were injured, few were severely wounded and two lost their lives. As time passes, the building began to collapse, becoming unstable by the second.

Dukemon was getting frustrated and impatient. His heart racing in pain for Duftmon was nowhere in sight.

"We need to move to the second floor," He urged SaviorHackmon.

"We can't rush the wounded out of here," The operative retorted stoically, "And we still have some survivors on the first floor,"

"I'll handle first floor then, you get the survivors from the second floor!" SaviorHackmon nodded and ran up to the second floor.

Parts of the roof fell, almost hitting SaviorHackmon. The heat was getting unbearable, actually starting to heat up his armour and burning his skin. The air was thick with suffocating smoke, his eyes watered and lungs dried, causing him to cough frequently. Due to the extreme heat produced by the flames around him, the goggles' vision were blinding him. Swearing, he pulled the pair up and braved the fire.

"Duftmon!" He yelled as loud as possible, feeling his vocal chords straining, "Anyone! Please respond!"

Loud but weak bangs caught his attention. Spotting at one end of the hallway was a metallic door. He ran to the door and tried to pry it open with no success. He noticed that it was an automated door, only granting access with a keycard.

"Help!" A voice screamed out weakly, coughing violently. The control room was probably filled with smoke, thus suffocating the digimon inside.

"Stay back!" SaviorHackmon shouted and punched the keycard slot.

The door slid open and a Sealsdramon fell face first to the ground, coughing and breathing dryly. The operative helped him up.

"There are two others back there, the rest are dead," The Sealsdramon informed through ragged breaths.

"Can you walk?" The cyborg digimon nodded, "Make your way downstairs and get out through the kitchen. I'll get the others," Sealsdramon nodded and wobbled his way down the steps.

SaviorHackmon coughed violently, his eyes stained by the smoke. He needed to act fast if he and the survivors want to get out of here. Going in, he found Duftmon sitting against the wall beside him while a Kokuwamon made their way out with a limp. The operative knelt in front of the knight, inspecting his wounds. Duftmon was in bad shape, he could see a trail of blood down the side of his head and a deep gash on his waist.

"Sir Duftmon, can you walk? Can you hear me?" He asked concernly.

Duftmon's eyes flickered open and gazed at SaviorHackmon. He grunted in pain as his body was registering the burning and throbbing pain that plaged his whole body. He tried to move but felt a sharp pain to his right leg.

"Sir, can you walk?" The operative asked again.

Duftmon shook his head in response, weakly pointing at his injured leg. SaviorHackmon looked down and saw a long dent in the leg armour, now digging into the flesh. Something heavy must've fell on him to cause this much damage.

"Okay, stay awake, sir, I'm going to get you out of here,"

Without a protest, the tactician let the operative lift him off the ground and carry him down the stairs and out of the burning and crumbling embassy. SaviorHackmon coughed dryly after he gently set Duftmon on the ground, a safe distance away from the building. Fresh air finally filled his lungs and his eyes were clear of stinging smoke. The sound of battle seemed to have dragged farther away from the embassy and onto the city's streets.

"Sergeant!" He turned his head right to see Gaioumon running up to him, "Are you alright?" He simply responded with a nod and a thumbs up. He looked back down at Duftmon, who was now cared by Dukemon and a combat medic.

"We managed to get all VIPs safe and sound but we've lost maybe four or five staff members in there..." SaviorHackmon informed the officer.

"You did well, kid. Get some rest while you still can," Gaioumon told him after giving a pat on his shoulder.

"Thank you, lieutenant," The draconic knight said before sitting down, catching his breath.

Alphamon joined them quietly, his armour a little roughed up by the previous fight. His eyes were steady and cold. He stared at Duftmon for a moment before his gaze shifted to Dukemon.

"Is he going to make it?" He asked.

"Yes... just a broken ankle, a cut on the waist and head and several third degree burns. He's lucky to have survived the full blast," Dukemon answered.

"Our QRF is unavailable. Just got word from Karatenmon that another terrorist contigency attacked a checkpoint. We're on our own for now and I need your help to clean up this mess,"

Dukemon stood up, picked up his lance and shield and nodded back firmly, "Right behind you,"

"Inspector Gaioumon, I'm trusting you with protecting the civilians until evac has arrived," Alphamon stated to the black samurai.

"Consider it done, sire,"

* * *

 _D-Brigade Base "Titan", Metal Empire._

The gravely wounded Commandramon weakly crawled away, a trail of blood followed behind him. A gunshot erupted in the air and a bullet pierced the back of his helmet. The soldier slumped to the floor, the wound bled profusely. The body dissipated to data particles, leaving behind a large pool of blood.

Weregarurumon X broke down the handgun with fluid motion, disassembling it and ungracefully threw it aside. His team secured the small security room, executing any remants on sight. A fierce battle between his forces and the D-Brigade waged outside the building. The Shadow Brigade has successfully overrun the military base but it wouldn't be long until Chaosdramon sends in a whole division to retake this very important site. After all, this is where he stores his new favourite toys.

"Sir, we have company," A MetalFantomon reported plainly, looking through the monitor on the security desk.

Weregarurumon X calmly walked towards him while the rest of his team called in the elevator to reach the undergound vault. The monitor displayed a live camera footage of the vault's entrance, now heavily guarded by a dozen soldiers, waiting for them at the elevator.

"The moment we step out, we're dead," MetalFantomon said bluntly.

"Is there another way in?" Weregarurumon X asked.

"We could try the air vents, but I doubt any of us is small enough to fit in there," The Reaper-like digimon said frankly, "And no, I can't simply fly through the walls," He added with a chuckle.

A rogue Sealsdramon ran up to the terrorist leader, saluting Weregarurumon X formally, "Sir, hostiles are closing in on our position. We can hold them off to buy you some time but it will be limited," He reported stoically.

"MetalFantomon, I'm leaving you in charge of the defenses..." Weregarurumon X then shifted his gaze to Sealsdramon, "Get your team ready to breach the vault," He ordered firmly.

The D-Brigade guards anxiously waited for the elevator to touch ground. The disciplined troopers were getting nervous. They were outnumbered and they were the last line of defense before the terrorists could get their hands on the nuclear weapons, stored in the vault behind them. The elevator finally reached the underground floor with a cheery ring. The troopers tensed up, their rifles at the ready. The metallic doors slid open to reveal a thick cloud of smoke spreading out, surprising them.

"Hold it..." The Knightmon sergeant ordered, eyeing the smoke cloud suspiciously. Then he heard two metallic thuds hitting the concrete floor. Two cylinders rolled by his feet. "Flashbang!"

Two deafening explosions blasted the soldiers' senses, the intense white flashes blinding them completely. They screamed in pain as their ears were assaulted by loud bells ringing from within. Suddenly, gunshots cracked and bodies started to fall.

"Open fire!" Knightmon shouted angrily while recovering from the flashbangs' effects.

The soldiers returned fire blindly, unable to get a clear line of sight of the incoming digimon. Weregarurumon X pounced on the first Commandramon, clawed at their face and ripped the rifle out of their grasps. He flipped the rifle shot the soldier three times to the chest. He switched target, a Sealsdramon, and fired four shots to the back and one to the head. Another Commandramon charged at him with a bayonet fixed on their rifle. He threw his weapon at their face, kicked their rifle away and slashed the digimon's throat.

He instinctively dodged beneath a sword strike by Knightmon. The heavy knight went for a kick, only to strike the air. He then felt intense pain cut across his back. He grimaced and turned around, missing Weregarurumon's silhouette. Another agonizing pain ripped across his left arm, pieces of his armour flew apart while he bled profusely. His face abruptly met Weregarurumon's fist, staggering the larger digimon back a few feet while pain shot through his face.

Spitting out blood through ragged breaths, Knightmon glared at his opponent, who grinned smugly while his soldiers were being executed by other terrorists.

"Face it, sergeant, you've failed your mission," The bipedal wolf taunted, "I would've let you a second chance to escape fate but I feel like ending you,"

"Good... at least we're on the same page..."

With all of his might and remaining strenght, Knightmon charged at the X-Antibody bearer, letting out a fearless and mighty battlecry. Weregarurumon X simply grinned and glided across the floor, his claws slicing through the knight before he could get him. Knightmon gasped in shock before falling to his knees and looking at his abdomen in a catatonic state. His chestplate was completely shredded, his abdomen clawed open as blood spilled out of the wounds like a fountain. Behind the knight was a black Exveemon, shouldering a combat shotgun and pointed at the digimon's back. A loud gunshot resonated as Exveemon neutralised the last D-Brigade soldier. The rogue Sealsdramon coldly watched the disappearing body.

"O' Twelve!" Weregarurumon X called him, "Report back to MetalFantomon and prepare for exfiltration, I want you to save as many of our own as possible," He instructed flatly.

"Sir yes sir!" Sealsdramon 012 replied sharply and ran back in the elevator.

Exveemon snorted in disgust once the cyborg commando was out of sight, "Still can't believe you recruited him," He commented with a frown.

"Well, he is an important asset to this op. Those two months of torture were worth the time so I would like you to shut it, Vee," Weregarurumon X retorted before he swiped the access card to the vault.

The large vault door hissed and whined as it slowly rolled out to the side, granting access to the terrorists. A large containment room welcomed them, filled to the brim with metal crates of ammunations and weapons, each divided and organized neatly in different categories. The flood lights on the ceiling automatically lit up, clearing the sheer size of the munition depot to the terrorists. Some of them were in awe at the sight.

Exveemon whistled in awe, "And they are storing nuclear weapons with the rest of them? That's not asking for a fuck up," He commented sarcastically, "By the Gods, that's very stupid on the D-Brigade's part,"

"Spread out and find those nukes. Some of you can set up charges around this area, time them at twelve minutes," Weregarurumon X ordered firmly, prompting the others to accomplish their tasks, "We don't have much time so hussle up people!"

Each ran through the aisles, checking briefly the crate's contents before moving on the next one. Shortly later, they managed to locate a dozen larger crates, each having a nuclear hazard symbol on them. Carefully and under their leader's supervision, they pulled the lid off of one crate.

"Huh? That's their nuclear bomb?" Exveemon asked, sounding quite disappointed upon seeing the three small devices.

"No, that the nukes' core that goes into the missiles," Weregarurumon X explained, "But even without the missiles, these cores can easily destroy half of the ME if handled carelessly,"

"Cool," Exveemon said with a childish grin.

"Alright, get them out of here and let's get the fuck out of here," The leader ordered. The terrorists obeyed quickly, taking the nukes and carefully storing them in smaller but fitting cases.

Their earphones buzzed in urgently, Metal Fantomon's voice echoing franctically to bring in the bad news.

 _"Hostiles breached our perimeter! We're overrun!"_

"This place's already rigged with C4. Get everyone out of here now!" Weregarurumon X commanded sternly.

 _"Copy that, getting the fuck out of here. Good luck, s-"_ The line ended abruptly, followed by numerous gunshots erupting above them.

"Find us another exit point, fast!" He ordered a Fangmon, who nodded in reply and ran off. He faced Black Exveemon, a deep frown forming on his face, "I need your squad to hold them off for as long as possible. Can you do that?"

Exveemon snorted and offered an eager smile to his boss, "We're ready to give 'em hell, am I right, boys?"

"HAI!" His squadmates replied with determination.

"The rest of you, keep setting the charges and pull back to Fangmon when he finds an exit point. Exveemon, you come back to us as soon as I order you to. Got it?"

"Crystal clear, boss!"

The time was against them. The Shadow Brigade's assault force is being pushed back by D-Brigade reinforcements, now actively searching for any pockets of resistance to destroy on sight. Weregarurumon X's squad managed to find another elevator at the very back of the vault. Unfortunately, the D-Brigade reached the underground vault and engaged Exveemon's squad, greatly outnumbered and outgunned.

His digimon quickly made their way in the elevator, currently holding the door for their leader and comrades still in the fight.

"Exveemon, fall back now. You still have time and we can cover your retreat," Weregarurumon X instructed, getting concern for his comrades.

 _"Ah... Just go, sir... we can hold them off for awhile but - but we won't... make it..."_ Came Exveemon's ragged voice.

"No, there's still a chance. Retreat now while you can!"

 _"Not possible, sir... I'm hit and I've lost most of my guys. I can stall them for a couple more seconds so I suggest that... that you get the hell outta there... It has been an honour, sir,"_

The canine digimon swore under his breath and ran back in the elevator, frustrated to sacrifice and abandon his companions.

Exveemon breathed rapidly, hissing as the pain was getting unbearable for him. He looked down at the wounds on his chest and right leg. Blood dripped through his weak fingers, his right leg twitched slightly. He clenched his teeth and huffed with effort to sit up against a munition crate, hearing the soldiers' boots hitting the concrete floor. He grabbed the assault rifle next to him and mentally readied himself for his desperate last stand.

"Hostile spotted!" He heard a soldier report, a dozen meters away from him.

The D-Brigade troopers instinctively formed a firing line at the remaining terrorist, one of them had line of sight of the digimon's left leg.

"Surrender, criminal, while you still can!" An officer announced with an authoritative voice, "We promise to not harm you in exchange for your surrender and intel on Weregarurumon X,"

Exveemon laughed weakly in response, "You really think I would give up and betray my boss? Who the fuck do you think I am?" The officer scowled at his rude reply, "I know how you idiots operate, I used to be a trooper just like you, served twenty years in the D-Brigade..."

The officer signalled his troops to advanced cautiously. Rifles up and aimed at Exveemon, the soldiers slowly closed the distance. Shots rang out suddenly as the wounded digimon opened fire, hitting a soldier in the knee. The others quickly backed away, some fired suppressive shots, pinning Exveemon behind his cover. The wounded Sealsdramon was shortly dragged away by their teammates. The officer grunted impatiently and scowled at Exveemon's direction.

"It's no use fighting back, you're just a digimon. We've outnumbered you... I'm letting you one _last_ chance to surrender,"

Exveemon laughed hysterically in response, confusing the D-Brigade troopers. "You think I'm alone? From the way I see it, I see four..." He then continued to laugh.

"See four...?" The officer asked to himself, not understanding the terrorist and slowly losing his patience.

Then it clicked in his head once a soldier swore franctically. "OH SHIT! I.E-"

The C4 charges detonated, creating a huge and deadly chain reaction as the explosion grew bigger in force. The underground facility crumbled and blew apart, the sheer force of the explosion bursted through the bunker-like ceiling and destroying the upper levels, levelling the entire building in an intense and uncontrollable inferno. The earth beneath their feet shook violently, sending heavy tremors throughout the base and farther away into the wilderness and fields. The powerful blast produced an equally mighty shockwave that rippled strongly through the land, knocking down nearby forests. Finally came the ear-shattering, earth trembling, thunderous boom. The sound was blasted into the sky, strong enough to shatter windows at nearby villages whose inhabitants all woke up with a jump as they felt the tremors of the explosion.

Those brave and curious enough walked out of their homes and looked in the distance at the dead of night, shocked as they witness a large and tall, black and fiery mushroom cloud of ash, dust, debris and fire rising up to the sky.

News of this deadly and catastrophic attack reached Chaosdramon the next morning, infuriating the emperor the very moment he got up.

* * *

Steelheim was badly scarred by last night's attack. Hundreds of D-Brigade soldiers secured the district around the embassy, establishing checkpoints on every major crossroads. The embassy was now a crumbling and ashen carcass, smoke still lingered in the air, rising from the small embers. The ambassadors, mayor and most of the evening guests were already escorted to a safer location. Gaioumon and SaviorHackmon were helping out the emergency medical teams sort out and evacuate the wounded while Raijinmon took command of the D-Brigade quick reaction force.

Alphamon paced around the back courtyard, waiting impatiently for a response from his QRF back in the Sword Zone. Dukemon sat down on the grass, a water bottle in one hand while his head rested on his arm, drained from the attack. Meanwhile for Duftmon, he was taken care of by EMT personel from an improvised medical station installed in the front courtyard.

Finally, his earphone buzzed to life, receiving an answer from one of his knights.

 _"Alphamon, come in. This is Examon, do you copy?"_

"Five by five, Examon. What's the sitrep on your end?"

 _"Not good. We've lost seven of our guys, more than three dozen from our allies. The terrorists managed to breach through security and overwhelm local police. What about you?"_

"Same..." He replied with a sigh, "The embassy is destroyed, the whole district is under D-Brigade control and Duftmon is injured. We're trying to figure out just what happened,"

 _"Well I hate to be the bringer of bad news. We just got word from Karatenmon that the ME's nuclear depot was raided and destroyed... These attacks were distractions,"_

"Goddamnit..." Alphamon muttered under his breath, "Alright, standby at the base until further notice, we're returning back to you and plan out our next course of action," He instructed firmly.

 _"Copy that. Be careful, Alphamon, and good luck out there,"_ Examon said sincerely before the line went dead.

"Luck doesn't exist at this side of the border," The black knight said to himself.

"So, what's the status?" Dukemon asked behind him with a yawn.

Alphamon turned around and let a small smile appear on his lips, "Glad you're awake... Not good all around, Chaosdramon will surely be furious right now,"

"Great..." Dukemon said dryly as he stood back, "Not like we needed more trouble... Now what?"

"For now, we're going to lay low. We'll regroup with Examon and Rhodoknightmon and then meet up with Angewomon. But first we need to get Duftmon back,"

"I'm already here," Duftmon said plainly, surprising the two others.

Dukemon stood up and stared at him with concerned eyes, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dukemon, can't you see I walked to find you two?" He retorted dryly.

"Great to see you too... too bad they didn't fix your attitude..." Dukemon muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," The tactician turned to Alphamon, "When are we leaving?"

"Since you're fine and well, I guess we can head back to the hotel and catch a Locomon at around noon," The black knight proposed after some thought, "Does that sound like a plan?"

Duftmon nodded while Dukemon simply shrugged in response. "Then we're leaving,"

* * *

While the Royal Knights were taking their leave and the D-Brigade and EMTs were able to reestablish security and help the civilians respectively under Raijinmon's supervision, things were calming down. As for the two TEAR operatives, they managed to slip away from security, avoiding the Storm Commander's interrogation and conducted their own investigation, regarding a certain shooter from last night.

Gaioumon followed SaviorHackmon as the latter pursued the trail of evidence highlighted by his goggles, guiding them towards the sniper's location on the rooftop of a semi-abandonned apartment. Although they were certain that the sniper was long gone, they expected to find at least some clues on the sniper's identity and hopefully their escape route, a trail that could lead the two operatives to them or a hideout.

Reaching the stairway accessing to the rooftop, SaviorHackmon slowed down his pace and stopped just at the door. Gaioumon halted just behind him, giving the sergeant a questionning look. The dragon knight looked around him carefully before he faced the lieutenant, his black shades completely covering his eyes.

"Coast's clear," He reported before he opened the door.

As expected, the rooftop was empty apart from a few puddles of water and a couple of pots of dead plants. SaviorHackmon immediately headed for a specific spot on the rooftop, kneeling down and stared at the ground.

"How did you know it was clear?" Gaioumon asked after a minute of silence passed.

"Hmm? Oh... My glasses have built-in scanners and infrared visions. I can see through walls, identify digimon from a dozen meters and I could analyse a crime scene on the spot. It's a very useful gadget," He informed with a small grin.

"Did you built it?" The black samurai asked curiously while observing their surroundings.

"Well, I did have some help from friends... I based the model on my mentor's glasses while a geeky nun known as Sistermon Blanc helped me program it," SaviorHackmon told with a nostalgic smile.

Gaioumon approached the knight and knelt beside him. Taking a whiff of the air, he could smell a faint odor of gunpowder. He looked around to find some traces of gunpowder on the ground beneath him with three crushed cigarette butts.

"They had time to smoke," He noted, to which Saviorhackmon nodded in agreement, picking one and staring at it intently. In other words, analysing the piece of evidence.

"About half an hour before the attack. They must've been waiting for a signal after setting up their rifle," He concluded as a matter-of-fact.

"But the question is: what happened next?" Gaioumon continued, standing back up to examine carefully the rooftop, "There's no way we will catch them. They must've exited right after the first shot,"

SaviorHackmon hummed and stood up, throwing the discarded cigarette on the ground, "From what I could gather, the sniper is a male Baalmon, unregistered in any ME or Sword Zone citizenship archives," He informed Gaioumon.

"So he's not a local... possibly a mercenary," Gaioumon suggested after some thought.

"That is highly probable – Ah ha!" The knight abruptly cheered.

"What is it?"

"After analysing the scene and gathering all the traces we've got, I regrouped the evidences to then detect the smell, thus creating a trail," Gaioumon tilted his head to the side in confusion, "The sniper may rid us of any visual traces but smell lingers on, especially gunpowder and nicotine. These odor are heavy and tend to stick on digimon. With my glasses, I can visually track down the smell he left behind like a Garurumon," He explained clearly, unable to hold a smile of pride.

"Then lead the way, mutt," Gaioumon teased with a grin of his own.

With a nod, SaviorHackmon followed the trail. From what he could deduce, the sniper made his escape by jumping off to another rooftop and so on. Navigating their way carefully on the many rooftops of the neighbourhood, they found themselves near an abandonned warehouse two klicks away from the embassy, secluded from the other buildings and bordered by chain-linked fences, wrapped with light blue covers from a construction company, probably to renovate or destroy the place.

A perfect hideout for any assassin to lay low while being relatively close to the target.

A wide gap was between them and the warehouse's roof. SaviorHackmon calculated the distance, figuring out when and where to jump and how to land without falling off. Gaioumon stood beside him, staring down the gap and the narrow alleyway beneath them.

"Do we have any company?" He asked plainly.

The knight shifted his gaze to the abandonned building, scanning for any lifeforms, "Negative, lieutenant. We're the only ones here," He answered shortly after, much to his relief.

Gaioumon hadn't spoken, instead he took a couple of steps back, out of SaviorHackmon's view.

"What are you-"

The sergeant was interrupted as Gaioumon sprinted pass him and jumped over the wide gap and landed on the other roof with a roll. The officer rose up and shrugged off some of the dust and dirt on his armour. He gazed back at him stoically.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to join me?" He asked loud enough for the stunned operative to hear him.

"R-right... coming over in just a few, lieutenant!" He replied and took a few steps back.

He breathed slowly, calming his nerves and mind. His glasses displayed him the suitable trajectory to make it to the other roof and informed its wearer that he had an 82 percent chance of success.

"Okay... I can do this..." He said dreadfully.

He hesitated for a bit before running at full speed. His bladed feet slammed hard against the concrete ground, each footstep gave off more momentum to send him flying. Just over the edge of the rooftop, his mechanical and strong legs bent down before springing to action, throwing him over the gap. The jump was a success, but the landing was another story.

Having no actual feet, upon landing, one of his feet scraped the ground on the side, making him stumble backwards and towards the gap. Flailing his arms around to stabilise, his other foot stepped on his cape and tugged him back to the empty space. He let out a yelped but was instantly caught and pulled over before he could fall off.

"Wow, that was close!" He exclaimed with relief.

"For fuck sake, watch where you land your feet!" Gaioumon scolded him, "You may have fancy glasses but you should really be careful where you land. And get rid of that god damn cape or shorten it at least,"

"Yes, lieutenant," The knight nodded with embarrassment, feeling humiliated to be scolded on like a child after a mistake was made.

The seasoned operative shook his head before he led him to a window panel, unlocking it and pushed it open, giving them access to the catwalk. It was a short and straight fall, so the chances of missing the target were slim. Going first, Gaioumon landed on the iron catwalk with a resounding 'clang', echoing louder through the warehouse. SaviorHackmon followed suit, the catwalk shook lightly beneath their feet.

After some time, they managed to get their way to the ground floor and resumed to follow the tracks.

"God, this place's a dump," Gaioumon commented with disgust as he looked around the building.

Parts of the roof were gone, some of the ceiling windows were broken with pieces of sharp glass scattered haphazardly on the ground.

"Are you sure he's in this place?" He asked doubtfully.

"Positive... though it is intriguing that I have no visual of him. The trails suggest that he was present in this very building minutes before," SaviorHackmon informed.

"Then he should be close. We might have a chance to get him,"

As if on cue, the sound of creaking metal caught their attention. Turning behind them, to the warehouse's office at the very back of the building, they spotted a figure opening and closing the door, as if not noticing the two operatives. They immediately recognized the digimon as Baalmon.

Baalmon took a step forward, looked up and instantly froze, eyes as wide as a deer caught in headlights. There were five solid minutes of awkward silence between them, the air was so thick that they could pratically hear each other's breathing.

The cloaked digimon took a step back, the operatives took a step forward. Baalmon glanced around him for a quick exit. Gaioumon slowly raised his hands as if to show no aggression.

"Easy there, bud, we just want to talk. We can guarantee you our protection if you're worried about D-Brigade feds," The officer negociated in a diplomatic tone.

For a moment, no one moved a muscle. All of the sudden, Baalmon swiftly pulled out a handgun, shot Gaioumon and ran back in the office. The bullet scraped Gaioumon's helmet, staggering him. SaviorHackmon was shocked to move and looked at his superior officer with concern.

"Don't just fucking stand there! GET HIM! NOW!" Gaioumon shouted sternly.

Without a word, he obeyed his command and sprinted after the sniper. He kicked the office's door open just in time to see Baalmon exiting through the back door. Kicking the other door open, he caught sight of Baalmon and pursued him through the narrow alleyway. Baalmon threw to the side bins to slow the operative down. SaviorHackmon simply jumped over them, catching up to him.

The sniper made a hard right, ending up at a dead end, blocked off by a wall. He frantically climbed over it, SaviorHackmon caught him and grabbed hold of his left foot. In a panic, Baalmon kicked the operative hard on the face, freeing his other foot. Dazed, SaviorHackmon quickly scaled over the wall and continued the chase. They both ended up in the open street, in broad daylight where hundreds of civilians walked towards their destination.

The chase was followed with a chorus of surprised screams and angered swearing as the two digimon pushed through the sea of civilians. Baalmon was having a hard time to get rid of the dragon knight and opted to change his course of action with a simple objective: fuck the hideouts and run as far as he can.

Reaching the marketplace, Baalmon bumped into a police officer. He threw the officer at SaviorHackmon and jumped over a merchant's stall. The latter leapt over the fallen police officer, not taking his eyes off of his target. Baalmon pulled down every stall behind him and threw as many fruits, vegetables and toys back at SaviorHackmon but to no avail. The TEAR operative passed through each obstacle with fluid motion, not a single breathe wasted.

Running out of options and reaching the edge of town, Baalmon decided to take his chance and escape through the countryside. He spotted a construction site and ran towards it. He vaulted over the entrance bar, much to the guard's protest and orders, and sprinted down the dirt and muddy path.

"We've got an intruder, all units respond to sector 5!" The guard reported to the rest of his team, "Code- OH COME ON!" He shouted angrily as SaviorHackmon jumped over the entrance bar, "We have two intruders, I'm on pursuit!"

Comically, the chase now had three runners; Baalmon's pursuer now had his own pursuer. SaviorHackmmon looked back in annoyance and set his sights back on Baalmon. The cloaked digimon was closing in on the edge of the construction site, only to be jumped at by two guards. The operative was going to help them, only to be pounced on by the security officer pursuing him.

"You're under arrest, motherfuc-AAAAH!"

In one fluid and swift motion, Saviorhackmon grabbed hold of his arm and threw him to the ground, immobilising the shocked guard.

"Sorry," He said plainly and resumed the chase.

Baalmon knocked one guard and fired the second to the kneecap. He turned around and fired more rounds at SaviorHackmon. The operative raised his forearms ahead of him, shrugging off the incoming bullets.

"Fuck!" Baalmon swore and threw the pistol at him, which by random chance hit his pursuer square on the face, dazing him a second time.

While he climbed over the fence and slid down a muddy slope, SaviorHackmon was attacked by another group of guards. With a groan, he dispatched all four of them efficiently without receiving a single hit. Once done with them, he climbed over the fence, landed on his feet with a grunt and slid down the slope. The dirt slope led him and his target to a busy railroad of a dozen tracks wide where hundreds of Locomon and Trailmon pass by every minute.

Losing his patience, SaviorHackmon's eyes narrowed at Baalmon and chased after him, who was already halfway at the other side of the railroad. He leapt over the small border wall, jumped over one railway and running through the second. Going through the third, he heard a Locomon blaring their horns at him, closing in on him in seconds. He rolled forward just in time to dodge them. Passing the fourth and fifth tracks, he could see that Baalmon was having a hard time passing the railroad, slowing down his pace to avoid being crushed to a mush.

Another blaring horn brought his attention back on the tracks, the operative halted just at the side as a Locomon sped in front of him, the strong winds almost knocking off his feet.

"Asshole!" He heard them yell at him furiously as they pass him.

Once clear, he jumped over the seventh track, then the eighth, catching up to Baalmon. The assassin was about to jump over but was suddenly tugged back in mid-air. He fell roughly on his back but instinctively rolled to the side, dodging a stump from his pursuer. He tackled SaviorHackmon to the ground, punched him across his cheek and made his mad dash over the track.

The operative didn't slow down after the hit. He dove over the track just before a Trailmon could run over him. He grabbed Baalmon's arm and took an elbow strike to the face. In response he swiped his leg across his feet, knocking the sniper down. Baalmon kicked him back, only to miss and recieve a punch to the guts. Swiftly, he pulled out his knife and swiped the blade at Saviorhackmon's arm. Sparks jolted out of the armour but had no damage. The operative did however stepped back, getting cautious as Baalmon stood up and faced him with a glare, a blade in hand ready to spill his blood.

With deft skills, Baalmon launched first, slicing and swiping at Saviorhackmon, who could only block or dodge them. Sparks flew out, the knife slowly chipping away at his armour. Distracted, Baalmon thrusted the knife at the operative's shoulder. He parried the strike, pushing the arm away from him and his foe, and sent his armoured knee to Baalmon's torso. The powerful strike knocked to winds out of his lungs, his body bent over by the sheer force. SaviorHackmon then twisted his wrist holding the knife, cracking it painfully. No scream came out as Baalmon shortly took a hit on the face and then knocked back on the ground. SaviorHackmon knelt down on him, pressing forcefully a knee on his chest and struck him once again on his face.

Too weak to fight back, SaviorHackmon pulled him back to his feet and together they crossed the last two tracks across the railroad. He ungracefully dropped Baalmon on the ground beside him, intentionally making him fall on a pile of mud that stained his ragged, white robes. He bent down and began to search through his robes.

Baalmon moaned in pain, his face throbbing and nose bleeding, but that didn't stop him to make a sly comment about the operative's action.

"Hey, you didn't ask for my consent, that could be considered as rape, y'know..."

"Shut up."

"But I'm willing to shut my mouth if you want som-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Saviorhackmon slapped him across his cheek, sending more throbbing pain.

"I said shut up!"

"Ah fuck! Okay, okay, easy there!" Baalmon protested, grabbing hold of Saviorhackmon's hand with his good and unbroken hand.

The operative stopped and glared at him, "Let go of my hand if you don't want me to bust your face in," He warned darkly.

"Look, buddy, can't you see I'm trying to cooperate here! I surrender now let me explain," The knight made no comment to protest or agree, "I'm an undercover agent, I'm on your side and since you caught me, my cover is blown... thanks to you," Baalmon said with a scowl.

"I don't believe you," SaviorHackmon replied incredulously.

"Check my dog tags... Well go on, you're already groping me so don't hesitate," Baalmon retorted sarcastically.

"This is ridiculous..." He muttered as he searched through the sniper's robes, running his hands across his chest.

At the same time, Gaioumon finally arrived, running towards them before he slowed down and bent down, resting his hands on his knees while catching his breath.

"Holy crap... You guys went far, fast..." He commented through heavy and laboured pants, "The hell you're doing to him?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Groping me – Searching him," They both responded at the same time.

"You, shut up," Gaioumon ordered Baalmon sternly, "And why are you searching him?"

"He said he's on our side. I presume he's some sort of fed or spy..." SaviorHackmon then stopped talking, looked down and pulled out a necklace with two dog tags attached to it.

He took a closer inspection, his goggles scanned the name, serial number and symbol. Once the scan was over, the AI displayed the results and he didn't like them.

"Crap..."

"What?"

"He's from the Royal Knights..." He answered with dread and disbelief.

Baalmon gazed at the two operatives with a smug grin, "And I guess you two aren't just CNS peace inspectors... no POG can run this fast and for so long," He commented with amusement.

Gaioumon knelt down and pulled Baalmon by the collar, staring at him with a dark and intimidating expression, "For the last time, shut up. You're going to explain once we get back to camp Tolkien. So for now on, you're under our custody and under arrest. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes sir!" Baalmon replied nervously.

SaviorHackmon stood up and rubbed his right shoulder, relaxing his aching muscles, "By the way, lieutenant, how did you get here so fast?"

"I took shortcuts," Gaioumon replied with a shrug, "While you idiots ran around and caused trouble, I found an underground tunnel just behind the warehouse that led directly here. I'm pretty sure that now the police are on our asses. Let's get the fuck out of here,"

"Aye, lieutenant," Saviorhackmon agreed with an exhausted sigh.

* * *

 **Author's Note: _*Gasp*_ QUOI?! Another chapter this early?! So yeah... I just felt like posting this chapter though future updates won't be frequent, it could take a week or more, it depends really if I'm satisfied with what I'm writing and time (I do want to enjoy my holiday at the same time) I hope you enjoyed this story so far. If so please leave a review if you want. It could really help me or you could give me some advice or ideas, I'm open to anything. As always, _à la prochaine!_**


	3. A Brave New World

Chapter 3:

A brave new world

Earth, or the Real World known by the digimon, hasn't changed much despite the discovery of the Digital World.

The Middle-East is still a powder keg of conflicts and tensions. The insurgency in Syria isn't over despite the defeat of ISIS. The remaining terrorist cells disbanded and formed their own terror group, fighting each other to claim control of the organisation's power. Syria and Irak were turned into proxy wars fought by local rebels, governmental militaries, warlords and western private military companies. Africa is slowly developing but is still plagued with piracy, corruption, civil wars and famines. Foreign businesses and firms took advantage of the situation to take and occupy the continent's rich natural ressources for their own benefits. Europe is still struggling with the refugee crisis coming from the Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle-East while fighting back the rise of ultranationalists and far right-wing parties, dividing the European Union. More civil riots and political tensions are appearing in South America and in the United States, President James Dirrel was re-elected for his second term, promising once again to increase the country's economy, security and military power.

Japan, unfortunately, is seeing a decrease in its economy and an increase of unemployment, caused by the battle of Tokyo in 2017. Being the capital city and the financial capital of Japan, Tokyo's damages were catastrophic and disruptive for the economy. Still recovering from the disasters back in 2011 and 2018, Japan is having a hard time to gain its population's trust. However, the Japanese Self-Defense Force did see an increase in budget and popularity. After the First Digital Expedition, the JSDF saw a huge boom of new recruits. At the same time, its budget increased to develop new weapons and upgrades for its military force since Japan is literally at the very gate to the Digital World, thus the first to be exposed to digimon threats and invasions.

Around the world, there is a trend of increased military budgets, each country developed its own equipment specialized in "Digital Warfare". With the formation of the International Digimon Defense Force, state-members have dedicated their spendings to equip and arm their troops for the Digital World. During the First Digimon Expedition, it was commonly noted that humans had four advantages when fighting digimon: accuracy, adaptability, mobility and volume of fire. New weapons and equipment were created to reply to these demands and secure the humans whatever advantages they could get.

The IDDF is now preparing for a third expedition in the Digital World, led by the JSDF with the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium armed forces. After an emergency call from the CNS, the Third Expeditionary Force will be deployed as a peacekeeping force, stationed in the Digital World for a full year.

* * *

 _Shibuya Special Ward, Tokyo, July 2022._

The sun basked the city with its glowing warmth, beginning the day for everyone. Little by little small businesses started to open, people began to head to their workplace. The city turns alive, filled with the bustling activity of its inhabitants.

The sun's rays shoned through the closed blinds of Shino's apartment, bringing light to the dim darkness. Being a senior sub-officer, Shino Kuribayashi is able to rent a spacious apartment for herself. Her salary paid the bills and was enough to allow her to buy some personal commodities. After her deployment in the Digital World, which accumulated to three long years of combat, the extra salary was more than enough for her to enjoy a small vacation and save some for her retirement.

Slowly waking up from a deep slumber, the bed sheets shifted gently as one of them opened their eyes. Stephen lifted his left arm above his face, blinking his drowsy eyes as he focused on his wristwatch. After having a glance at the time, he sighed deeply and turned his face to the side. The beautiful sleeping form of his girlfriend greeted him. He smiled warmly, feeling her calm, soft breaths soothing his skin. Her chest rose up and down gently, her face relaxed despite her messy and ruffled hair that covered half of her face. Cautiously he pulled back some of the strands that were covering her eyes and nose and gently tucked them behind her ear. His smile grew wider at the beautiful sight lying next to him.

He slowly sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes one last time, making sure he was awake. Scattered on the bed and floor were their clothes. A light pink blush crept up on his cheeks when he remembered last night's _'activities'_. It all started with a date night he planned for Shino's birthday; next they sat in the living room to watch a movie and then they ended up in the bed room, having the night of their lives. Simply put, they fooled around for quite some time.

Just as he step a foot off the bed to retrieve his boxers, Shino stirred in her bed and woke up, her eyes drowsy and heavy. She mumbled something in her semi-awaken state and took hold of his right hand.

"Hmmm, stay in bed with me..." She requested lazily.

Stephen laughed lightly and gladly obliged, lying back next to her and inched forward to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey there, birthday girl," He greeted with a sweet smile.

"Hey me," She replied, lazily wrapping an arm around his waist, "Sleep well?"

Her boyfriend closed the gap between them, embracing her and letting her head nestle just under his chin. Feeling his skin brushing against hers made her shiver with excitement.

"Yep, despite what happened last night," He said with a chuckle.

"Mmm, thank you for the wonderful present... that was the best laid ever," She replied tiredly.

He laughed again and brushed a hand on her cheek before kissing it, "As much as I want to stay in bed, we should really take a shower," His stomach then chimed in by growling loudly, "And now I'm hungry... great,"

Shino giggled and perked up, gazing into his eyes, "Fine, we'll go take a shower and eat breakfast," She gave a small peck on his lips and sat up, stretching her arms out and yawning loudly while Stephen put his boxers on and headed for the bathroom.

She turned to her nightstand for her alarm clock, it read: _06:14 AM_. She sighed and forced herself out of bed, walking towards her closet to fetch her uniform and a bath towel. She shamelessly walked out of her room naked and went in the bathroom where Stephen was currently taking a shower. She placed her clothes and towel on the toilet seat and walked to the shower stand.

She slid the curtains away, startling her boyfriend while she calmly walked in the shower, much to his discomfort. Stephen stumbled with his words, face turning to all fifty shades of red, unable to take his eyes off of her naked, luscious figure.

"C-can't you just wait until I'm done?" He asked nervously.

"My home, my rules," She replied nonchalantly as she took the bottle of shampoo, "Besides, I think you've seen a lot of me like this yesterday," She added slyly.

Stephen groaned in response and turned around, avoiding her completely. She smiled smugly and continued to wash herself. As expected he left the shower first, grumbling while he puts on his trousers and olive drab tee-shirt.

"I'm going to prepare breakfast for us!" He told her as he left the bathroom.

"Thanks, babe!" She replied loudly.

It has been two years that they were in a relationship, eight months that Stephen lived with Shino under the same roof. Being an officer in the "Digital Marines", Stephen was stationed in Tokyo for five years to lead the new generation of "Digital Marines" as well as to test out the new equipment and weapons at the Yokota Airbase, the official IDDF base in Japan. The two of them were usually busy during the day, only able to see each other in the apartment at late afternoon to spend time together.

Exiting the bathroom after the nice warm shower, Shino closed her eyes and smiled as the smell of bacon and eggs filled her nose. She quickly made her way to the living room and into the open kitchen while Stephen was finishing cooking the omelettes. She embraced him from behind, resting her head against his back.

"You're the best, hun!" She said with a delighted sigh.

"I know. Oh, and coffee's ready,"

He turned around and gave her quick kiss on the lips before he gently pushed her to the coffee machine and lightly slapped her butt, earning a surprised gasp from the smaller woman.

* * *

 _USMC Camp "Jarhead" HQ, Yokota Airbase._

Idle chatter filled the small conference room as Marine officers and NCOs waited for the briefing regarding the upcoming expedition. Raymond toyed with his pencil while his new company sergeant, Gunnery-Sergeant Mark Porter, discreetly read an article on his smartphone. The two of them became quick friends despite their age differences and experiences, the latter being ten years older than the captain. Raymond's long time company sergeant and friend, Louis Dukeman, retired from the Corps and worked as a police officer, but with his combat experience in the Digital World, he began working with the Corps as a drill sergeant, training the recruits in "Digital Warfare".

Sensing another Marine approaching him to his right, Raymond turned his head just in time to greet his executive officer, First Lieutenant Edward Sullivan.

"Colonel's late?" He asked as he sat down next to Raymond.

"You bet," The captain confirmed with a long sigh.

"Getting bored, skipper?" Porter asked with a teasing grin.

"You know me, Gunney, I'd rather roll around in the dirt and mud than having my ass on a chair," He replied nonchalantly.

"Well speak of the devil," Sullivan chimed in as he stood up.

"ATTEN-SHUN!" The battalion's Sergeant-Major bellowed sternly across the room as Colonel Eversman and Lieutenant-Colonel William Richards entered.

Everyone stood up sharply and silence reigned for a moment. Both senior officers saluted the Marines. "At ease, gents," Richards instructed calmly and stepped back, letting Eversman to gather the Marines' full attention.

"Marines, in a month, you will be deployed in the Digital World as part of the Third Expeditionary Force, with Japan, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Your mission is to maintain and uphold peace. Unfortunately, a conflict is on the verge to spark in a region. As a peacekeeping force, your mission is not to wage war and destroy an enemy; but if it does come to that, then you will be ready to face any threat." He stated firmly and with confidence. "That is why we're doubling combat and physical drills and joint combat drills. In addition, we will extend the Digimon Cultural and Civic Education classes to two hours. As planned, these classes start at 1400 hours and end at 1600 hours. You will learn everything about the Digital World and its people, the types, levels, social and economic structures and language training..."

The colonel could sense the Marines' dread and boredom when mentionning about the D2CE classes. He inwardly smiled and decided to humour them for a moment.

"However, I'm proud and happy to inform that you will also be testing out our new gadget, brought to you by Hypnos themselves," He announced proudly and on cue, Richards stepped forward and presented to the entire conference room a small handheld device, about the size and ressembling a smartphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: the D-Scan. Short for "Digimon Scanner", this handheld device will enable you to identify a digimon, giving you their threat level, digivolution stage, type and attributes. For now, over two billion individual digimon are registered into that small device. You simply point the scanner towards a digimon and it will do the rest. It has an effective range of up to a hundred meters and doesn't need Wi-Fi to work," He said jokingly, earning a few laughs from the Marines, "Jokes aside, this tech is pretty sophisticated and amazing. This should help you to distinguish between friend and foe and to help you make the right decision when in combat. Each squad leader and officer will be equipped with a D-Scan,"

Porter snickered and lightly hit Raymond with his elbow, "Looks like we're going to be like those kids from the cartoon," He commented humourously.

Raymond grinned in response, "Who knows? Maybe we could be Digidestined and have digimon partners,"

"With all due respect, skipper..." Sullivan chimed in the conversation, "From what we experienced in the Digital World, I'd rather not you jinx us once again," He reminded his captain.

"Oh, right..."

"In other news," Eversman continued, "You will also have a large team of reporters joining you in this expedition for a period of four months. These journalists are embedded to all units from all four armed forces. They are from a well-known and popular Japanese news report channel, so the best behaviour is advised... or else I'll have your heads on a pike," He warned with a sly grin. He turned to Richards and nodded at him.

The battalion commander stepped forward, cleared his throat before addressing to his subordinates.

"Alright, ladies, for our agenda, D2CE classes with D-Scans will start Monday where we will get a brief layout of the functions and controls. On Tuesday, we will receive a new batch of rookies, a hundred Marines, which makes our battalion stand at eight hundred Marines. We will start combat training with the D-Scans after the morning P.E and will do so from there. On Thursday of next week, British Paras and Commandos from Task Force "Vulture" will arrive on base. We will begin our first joint combat drill the next day at first daylight with them and the Japs. Finally, starting from the 20th, all week-ends will be revoked for preparations and more drills for the expedition. In other words, every Marine will be staying on base. Period." Richards looked up from his clipboard after he read the long list of the battalion's agenda, "Are there any questions?"

A Marine lifted his hand, Richards nodded at him to speak up, "When are we exactly deploying for the expedition?"

Richards simply shrugged, "We don't have an exact date due to events in the Digital World. Hypnos and the UN are considering the right date for our deployment. I cannot go in more details but if the situation over there is bad, then expect a rapid deployment this month. If not, we'll probably deploy in the last week of August. That is all I can say on that matter," He answered sincerely. The higher ups were still a little bit unsure when it came to the exact date of the expedition's deployment.

"Any other question? No? In that case, today's program ends at 1800 hours as usual, so enjoy your weekends after that,"

 _1220 hours, Mess Hall, Yokota Airbase._

The mess hall was packed. A long line of American and Japanese soldiers waited to be serve their lunch while the cooks in the kitchen worked tiredlessly to get plates up and running. Most of the tables were already full, American and Japanese mixed together in a sea of different shades of green. Being a typical Friday, the mess hall was often full at this time of the day.

"Oh man..." A Marine said in disbelief and dread. _"Of course I had to take a minute piss break at the last second!"_ He thought to himself angrily. He slumped his shoulders and sighed in defeat, joining the queue.

His phone buzzed in his right trouser pocket. He fetched his phone and swiped his thumb across the screen to unlock it. A message popped up, sent by one of his friends.

 _"Bro, where the fuck are you?"_ It read.

He sighed again, marched two steps forward and typed in his reply: _"Took a piss and now I'm in the line just outside the door..."_

His friend replied soon after: _"LOL! Better hurry your ass up, Kyle's almost done eating"_

 _"I'll try... :/"_ He responded after taking three steps forward.

 _"Best of luck, Mikey ;)"_

Mikey breathed out and tucked his phone back in its pocket. The Lance Corporal leaned to the left, eyeing the queue's progression. There were about eight more Marines before he could step foot in the mess hall.

"How are you all doing, boys?" Came the company sergeant's voice, gathering everyone's attention as he walked by the queue with Captain Raymond in tow.

The Gunnery-Sergeant seemed to be in a good mood, Mikey noted. The Marines replied happily, greeting their superiors with a smile.

"Remember, Marines, today's P.E will be the obstacle course in full combat gear, so don't stuff your faces with food. Oorah?" Porter informed them with a grin.

"Oorah!" They all replied loudly.

"Carry on then," Porter said before heading out while the captain stayed behind for a bit.

"Don't get all excited for lunch, it isn't that great," Raymond said lowly to the passing Marines, making some of them chuckle, "Though do hurry up, we start training at 1300 hours... That's also including you, Lance Corporal Kudo," He said as he pass by Mikey, "We don't want a repeat from last week, is that clear?"

"Affirmative, captain..." Mikey replied with his head hung low while his fellow Marines laughed. _"This is going to be a long day_..." He thought dreadfully.

* * *

Later that night, Shino finally came home. Stephen was in the kitchen, cooking dinner when the apartment's entrance door opened, followed by the sound of an exhausted sigh and boots hitting the wooden floorboards.

"Tadaima..." She announced with another tired sigh.

Stephen rose an eyebrow up. Her speaking in her native tongue could either mean she's really pissed off or really upset. From her tone though, he could safely say it was the latter.

"I'm in the kitchen," He replied plainly.

He took a glance at the sizzling pieces of steak and placed a cover over the pan. He turned around to greet a very upset and tired Shino, slowly making her way toward him. He gave her a sympathetic smile but it had no effect on her. Instead, she embraced her boyfriend and dug her face on his chest. Stephen awkwardly wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, rubbing her back in comfort. It took him a minute to figure out the reason behind Shino's mood.

"You heard about the news, huh?" He asked anyway, wanting to hear her voice again. She bobbed her head up and down against his chest. "Look, we'll talk about this after dinner, okay? Go get yourself a drink and rest up for a bit; I'll postpone dinner if you want," He suggested considerately.

"No, don't..." She finally spoke up, "I'm hungry and I want to get over with it as soon as possible,"

"As you wish, sweetheart," He replied and kissed her forehead.

She relunctantly retracted from the hug, picked up her rucksack and head to the bedroom to change out of her uniform. Stephen simply resumed cooking and prepared the dinner table for the two of them. Dinner went smoothly, Stephen managed to get her into small talks, away from work related discussions. After he set their empty plates in the sink, he joined her on the living room's couch, lying beside her and wrapped an arm around her.

The couple didn't exchanged a single word. Stephen remained quiet for his girlfriend, gently rubbing her back to comfort her.

"I'm going to miss you..." She said solemnly.

"I'm going to miss you too, sweetheart," He replied sincerely, gazing into her eyes, "But that's the life we've chosen, it should be expected,"

She gazed back at him with a frown. She slowly sat up and stared down, holding one of the pillows against her stomach. Curious, he sat up as well and took her right hand into his, softly stroking his thumb across it.

"You'll be gone for a whole year... a lot can happen in a year," She stated sadly, her eyebrows burrowed, "And it won't be like the last expedition. Something bad is happening over there and... and I'm stuck here while..." She sighed and hid her face behind the pillow.

Concerned, he got closer to her and craddled her in his arms. "Look... I'm going to be honest here. I won't spew out the everything-will-be-fine bullshit. We both know what it's like in the Digital World and the higher ups don't really know what's going over there as well," He said bluntly, "But I love you and I don't want to lose you. But if things do go south... maybe we should... uhm..." He struggled with his words, not actually knowing nor liking where his train of thoughts was going.

"Are you suggesting that we should break up?" She asked with worry.

"W-well... if you want to... to, y'know, to avoid any, uh-"

"But I don't want that!" She exclaimed in surprise.

Stephen stared at her for a second before he breathed out in relief, "Oh thank God... I thought for a moment-"

"Why would you think I want that?!" She asked, now confused and upset.

"Well I don't know! I've heard stories and seen enough movies to guess where this is going!" He countered defensively, "I may be older than you but I'm still new with all this couple stuff!"

Through her teary eyes, Shino giggled feverishly before bursting into laughter while her boyfriend – a well respected Marine and a hero in Japan and in the US – stuttered and blushed in embarrassment.

"You can be such an idiot sometimes!" She said through her laughter.

"At least I'm your idiot," He replied slyly.

Shino suppressed her laugh and leaned on his shoulder, "That's right... You're my idiot," She said with a soft smile. She faced Stephen and closed her eyes, "I love you," She said with a blissful sigh.

"I love you too," He replied and leaned forward, meeting her lips with his.

The slow and soft kiss soon became a passionate and heated embrace. Their interlocked tongues explored each others' mouths, sending jolts of excitement and lust through their bodies, melting into the warm kiss. Stephen gently pushed Shino, the two of them lied on the couch with him on top of her. Relunctantly, he pulled out of the kiss, gazing warmly at his girlfriend.

"You still have two weeks of me... why don't we make the best of that time?" He asked softly, resting his forehead against hers.

"Hmmm, that sounds like a plan to me," She replied with a grin.

Her hands gingerly reached his waist and slowly pulled off his tee-shirt. Helping her, he fully took off his tee-shirt, throwing it behind him. She stared hungrily at his bare, muscular torso. Impatient, she frantically threw away her shirt and unbottoned her bra, revealing her breasts to her boyfriend. The couple blushed at each other, feeling their hearts beating rapidly with each second.

The night was still young for them.

* * *

 _Yokota Airbase, August 26_ _th_ _2022, "D-Day"._

The airbase was stirring with activity as the personnel readied up for deployment. Long lines of armoured vehicles filled the tarmac. American, British, Belgian and Japanese soldiers waited for the green light while the vehicles were going through last minute inspections. Everything must be perfect.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has deployed a hundred officers to block off and clear out the streets for the military convoy. Like the previous expedition, the deployment gathered the attention of hundreds of news outlets from around the world, broadcasting every second of the event live to thousands, if not millions, of viewers. For the people in Tokyo, it was hell on the road. The blockades meant painstackingly long traffics around the convoy's path, especially around Ginza District.

Sergeant Rika Nonaka was conducting her own last minute check-up on her squadmates. She inspected each trooper: their uniform, their deployment bag, kevlar vest and rifle. Helping her were Leading Private Junichi Kanemaru and Leading Private Ryo Akiyama, each checking their respective teams.

"How are you feeling today, private?" Rika asked Private Yoshino Nanjo while she inspected her rifle.

"Nervous, Sergeant," She replied honestly after adjusting her beret.

Rika pulled back the charging handle on the Type 21A1 battle rifle and peered into the loading chamber. Satisfied, she let go of the handle, the rifle snapped shut and she handed it back to Yoshino.

The Type 21A1 was an improved and updated version of the Howa Type 64 battle rifle with a mix of the Type 89. Replacing the old wood furnishings for lighter and sturdier polymer and aluminium alloy mixes, giving the rifle a more modern and sleeker design. The rifle sports a smaller barrel lenght than its predecessor at 30 centimeters (or 12 inches) to allow the user better maneuverability for urban combat while retaining the ability to engage targets at medium to long distances. The integrated bipod was removed and the handguard was fitted with four Picatinny rails and a rail mount on the upper receiver for scopes and red dot sights. Overall, the weapon was lighter, sturdier, cheaper and gave the user modification options.

"What about you, Sergeant?" The woman asked tentatively.

"Impatient, excited and pumped up," Rika answered confidently, "How's your foot?"

"Well I managed to follow the company to here, so that's a good sign, right?" Yoshino said with a small smile.

"Then in that case, you're set to go. Remember: stay focused, keep your chin up and smile for the cameras on the way out. You copy?" She instructed as a matter-of-fact.

"Five by five, Sergeant," The private replied, now motivated and determined.

"Team leaders, stats!" She demanded from Akiyama and Kanemaru.

"All green, Sergeant!" They reported at the same time.

"Second Company! Mount up!" Bellowed sternly the company sergeant, Sergeant Major Yuichi Nagashima.

"First Platoon, on me!" Second Lieutenant Hideo Hongo ordered loudly before he guided his platoon towards their dedicated vehicles.

The whole base was mobilised. Soldiers mounted in their transports while the vehicles formed the convoy and waited for the order from the Expedition Force Commander, Lieutenant-General Kanehira Yamamoto.

 _"All units, deployment starts... now! For-Ward!"_ Announced the senior officer.

On cue, the base's gates opened to the convoy. The long lines of vehicles drove out of the base and through the city. The armoured convoy gathered the attention of thousands of civilians, staring at the vehicles with awe or apprehension. The news reporters followed the convoy either by helicopter or by relocating to Ginza where a large crowd was gathered. The mass of people was mostly consisted of peace protesters, marching against the deployment of troops and Japan's sudden increase in military budget and interventions.

Since the first expedition, the Japanese government, primarily the Prime Minister, was heavily criticised. Japan's involment with the IDDF is still a very heated debate. In general, any subject regarding the Digital World is a controversial discussion. There were strong oppositions against Japan's involment with the IDDF in the Cabinet. The previous Prime Minister, Shinzo Morita, was pressured by the public to resign due to his warmongering nature and failed aid operation during the Second Expedition.

However these political and social debates are meaningless for the men and women in uniform. What matters for them was the present, their mission and the life of the soldier next to them. Once boots on the ground, the soldiers will be away from home for a whole year, thrusted into a whole new world, an alien world created by humans. For a year, they will be cut away from home. The only human contact they'll get are each other, soldiers with duties to uphold and missions to accomplish no matter the price to pay.

As the convoy approached the "Gate", the physical link between the two worlds, the roars and whines of the war machines drowned out all the noises and cries of protests from the peace march and riot police sirens. The intimidating steel dome that encaged the marble and stone portal opened, the alarms blared while orange lights flashed erratically. JSDF personnel guided carefully the vehicles toward the dark and lifeless void that resided inside the Gate like the gaping mouth of a monster, ready to swallow the convoy whole. The first vehicles went in without stopping nor slowing down and the others followed suit in the same disciplined pace.

The news outlets reported everything on their sight, the amount of vehicles and soldiers, the general public's opinions and feelings of the deployment. Some news channels were supportive of the military engagement, others were strongly against it, but many were conflicted.

Just like that, the last vehicles were gone, vanished from sight, before the very eyes of the crowd and TV viewers; entering a weird and bizarre dimension where nothing exist but the darkness and the dozens of armoured trucks, armoured personnel carriers and tanks. The rumbles and creaks of the engines and threads were suddenly muffled as soon as they entered the portal. And now, for about forty minutes, the soldiers sat in their vehicles in the unnerving silence of the void.

 _"Approaching the end of the tunnel,"_ Came the cool announcement of the lead vehicles.

This was it. Soon they'll be in the Digital World. For many, this was their first time. Excited, impatient, eager and nervous were the general feelings for them. For them, this felt like a grand adventure, a huge leap in their lives. A whole new and different world awaits and welcomes them, filled with different creatures and cultures. For the few and hardened veterans, this was hardly new yet there was still that youthful excitement of being in another world. The Digital World is truly an intriguing and amazing world, having its own charms and beauties that could rivaled Earth's. However, it is also a cruel world. The unknown is still a major factor that instilled fear and paranoia to some or limits the actions of the entire expeditionary force.

An alien world meant that soldiers must and should adapt quickly with the customs of the locals and its environments, for the Digital World is a hostile world for humans. Virtually every Digimon can easily kill a human being. A human being isn't strong or smart enough to survive in this world. It takes teamwork and serious firepower to neutralise most threats in the Digital World.

A sunny and clear day basked the vehicles instantly once they were out of the portal; and greeting the newly arrived soldiers were the familiar sight of a military base, run by other human soldiers. They've arrived at camp "Dawnstar".

Camp Dawnstar is the largest human military installation of this world, roughly the size of a town. The camp can house up to 30 000 personnel and fielded with all necessary facilities to run the IDDF's operations across the digital globe. Indeed, the camp is still occupied by humans. A small reserve force of five thousand personnel guard and run the base in a six-month rotation, exchanging the duty with another national task force or a joint task force. The camp can also be compared to a medieval fort. Occupying much of Dawnstar Hill, its base was surrounded by an impressive and towering wall made of steel and concrete in a five pointed star-like formation. It had multiple guard towers and gun positions fitted either with artillery cannons, mortars, medium and heavy machine guns, anti-tank and anti-air launchers. In addition, the base does have a ground and air QRF, ready to respond at a moment's notice.

Under the protection of the base, built around it was the town of Green Hill. During the First Expedition, it was built as a separated living area for Digimon refugees but as the war went on and the sudden increase of influx of refugees, the JSDF built the area bigger and accomodated with more facilities. In a year, it became a small town, baptised as Green Hill by the refugees, now residents. As the years went by after the war, the town grew bigger in size and population. In 2021, it became the most populous, attractive and prosperous town in the Southern Region, now almost the size of a small city. Camp Dawnstar acted as a citadel for the inhabitants of Green Hill, eventhough the town has the Green Hill Police Department.

The convoy drove towards the many hangars of the base's airfield. The transports halted in front of three hangars while the tanks, APCs and supplies trucks branched off and stopped at the motorpool for inspection and unloading. The troops disembarked, squad and platoon leaders barked orders as they regouped in the first hangar. The boots hitting the concrete ground echoed loudly, the soldiers marched quickly but at a disciplined pace.

In a couple of minutes each armed forces were assembled in their hangar. The Japanese soldiers, once in formation and standing in silence, waited as Lieutenant-General Yamamoto stood on top of a small podium and held up a microphone. His dark hazel eyes gazed at the soldiers in front of him, many were young, recently just out of bootcamp and many had zero combat experience. He cleared his throat and held the microphone closer to his mouth, ready to address his troops.

"Soldiers of the Self-Defense Force, welcome to the Digital World! For the next twelve months, you'll work, sleep and fight in this foreign world. For the majority of you, this is your first deployment. You are now embarking on an important mission and journey, not only for your country but also for you and our world. The training you've received and the drills you've been taught will _not_ fully prepare you when you'll be in a firefight, especially in this world." He declared sternly and coldly, wanting to be blunt with them.

"Your training will only give you the ressources, the know-how and the confidence you need to tackle every situation anywhere, anytime and in any mission. And you will need that confidence as well as courage and coldblood for digimon are not humans. They are not the adorable anime monsters you see on posters and television. They are sentient beings, smart and extremely resilient. They can and will kill you if you're not careful. We are their only human interaction in this world, so they will not hesitate to defend themselves when the need arises. That is why it is _imperative_ to win their hearts and minds, so we can easily accomplish our mission and establish a more stable and peaceful relations between our two worlds, our species. Who knows, maybe will live among them?"

"But for now, you and every personnel of this expeditionary force are the ambassadors of Earth and Mankind. We are here as peacekeepers, not warfighters. I expect from all of you a high level of dedication to duty and respect to the locals. You will, once on patrol or in combat, defend digimon civilians like they are our citizens. Is that clear?"

"RYOUKAI!" The soldiers shouted in response.

"In that case, your journey starts now. You will be receiving instructions from your CO and you will begin unpacking. Welcome to your new home, troopers."

The senior officer saluted sharply at the soldiers and walked down the podium. The Japanese soldiers saluted back in silence, waiting until the Lieutenant-General was out of the hangar to begin their first mission.

And so, the Third Expeditionary Force arrived in the Digital World, starting the third year of deployment. As word of their arrival reached the Royal Knights, they were soon contacted on the matter and situation at the Red Line.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey, I know this chapter is shorter than I usually write but I wanted to save some time and spare the long ones for action-packed chapters or very important ones. In this one, I've introduced some new characters, but there are more, and yes some of them are from the anime. With that said, I hope you liked this chapter and _à la prochaine!:D_**

 **P.S: ALLEZ LES BLEUS! ON EST EN FINALE! ON VA GAGNER! WOOOOOO!**


	4. Conspiracy

Chapter 4:

Conspiracy

 _Camp Tolkien, August 27th 2022, Sword Zone._

Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon held a small conference with their higher ups through the sergeant's laptop. They occupied the dragon knight's personal room to assure discretion during the meeting. Participating in this video call was Colonel Kaisergreymon and CNS Security Minister Susanoomon.

"... We didn't get much out of him, the Order came here to fetch him the day we arrested him," Gaioumon informed his superiors about Baalmon.

"We only know that the Order is deploying spies in Metal Empire territory. Their exact objectives, locations and numbers are still unknown," Saviorhackmon added plainly while Gaioumon grumbled under his breath.

Kaisergreymon let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead, "Great, now the Order is mixed up in this shit," He groaned in frustration.

" _Language_ , Colonel..." Susanoomon scolded him lightly before he addresses to the two operatives, "What's the current status at the border?" He enquired.

"So far, the ME is still letting some of its checkpoints open, however they have increased their military presence these past days," Gaiumon informed, "Though we were granted access to all crime scenes except at Base Titan, for obvious reasons. What Sergeant Saviorhackmon has found is quite interesting, and I suggest you listen intently,"

The lieutenant looked at the other operative, nodding at him to speak up and report his findings to them. Saviorhackmon seemed to be caught off guard but quickly regained his composure and confidently talked to his superiors.

"For the past three days, we were able to investigate each location that happened during the attacks. After I've examined and analysed deeper each crime scene, I was able to recreate some of them with what we've gathered on the locations." He explained firstly, "First of all, the terrorists were seen using military grade weaponry such as rifles, rocket launchers and machine guns. Secondly, they've also employed guerrilla warfare. They have stockpiles of weapons and ammo scattered around this region in caves, abandonned buildings and other remote locations..." He then frowned inwardly as he read through his reports, "Disturbingly, they've also begun using suicide bombers, similar to terror groups from the Real World..." The statement intruiged both the colonel and the minister. "Furthermore, it seems that the terrorists have an inside help or have implemented agents among the D-Brigade,"

"Are you saying that there are terrorists among the D-Brigade?" Susanoomon asked confusely.

"Affirmative. These agents are members of the military, currently working in the military," Saviorhackmon clarified.

"That is how they caught all of us off guard and attack simultaneously," Gaioumon concluded coldly.

"Great... and now we have spies among the D-Brigade..." Kaisergreymon grumbled.

"Indeed this is very problematic. The D-Brigade is quite a large military force. It is possible that these agents may number to a few dozens to hundreds if not thousands," The minister stated while stroking his chin pensively. "Lieutenant?" He called out.

"Yes, sir?" The black samurai responded.

"Do we have any lead to identify these agents or anything that could help us prevent future attacks?"

"Unfortunately not much, sir. That's all we could gather and we can try to ask the Royal Knights but... chances are they'll keep their intel classified from us," Gaioumon explained, feeling irritated with their current problem.

"I mean seriously, do they really have to be such a pain in the ass?" Kaisergreymon complained, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I agree... They've been quite uncooperative lately. This behaviour is seriously damaging and slowing down our development and progress in our alliance," Susanoomon pointed out with a frown.

"If I may interject, sirs," Saviorhackmon chimed in nervously, "But I do kinda understand their reasoning,"

"Oh?" The three others said at the same time, making the dragon knight feel more nervous.

"W-well the CNS was founded right after the war, and so far the organisation is growing rapidly in size and influence. Before that, the Order was the sole protector of the Digital World and the Network. Now, we've managed to unite over fifty states under the same banner, we have the fourth largest military force, have more fundings and budgets to accomplish more projects and the CNS is a whole institution and not a security force like the Royal Knights..." He explained as a matter of fact, "The Order has the seventh largest military force and the third most advanced research and development centre but their fundings are solely dependent on tax payers of the continent, contributions from the Holy Choir, the Sovereigns and even the CNS. They can truly grow as an organisation through conflicts, where they'll be more needed. So of course they'll want to keep an edge away from us if they do hold a more personal agenda,"

Gaioumon crossed his arms and nodded respectfully at the sergeant, genuinely surprised and impressed by Saviorhackmon's perception. The colonel and the minister were also as impressed, the latter remained silent while the former stared at the dragon knight with wide eyes, simply amazed.

"O-kay... wow... I'm at a lost for words," He finally admitted, making the operative blush in embarrassment.

"Indeed. It does make more sense if we put it like that," Susanoomon agreed pensively, "However, that doesn't mean they should complicate our task to bring peace and stability over that region. They are not only hindering our efforts to accomplish our mission, but they're also hindering their duties as protectors of the Digital World," He pointed out firmly, "We should remind them that we are allies and part of something far larger. They are not alone in this fight."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Kaisergreymon asked curiously.

"Hmmm... Perhaps I should personally visit the "Red Line" and later have a talk with them," The minister suggested with a hopeful smile.

"Are you sure that is a reasonable decision?" Gaioumon asked concernly, "The humans just arrived and they'll shortly be here. Aren't you going to attract a lot of attention,"

"You could be an easy target for the terrorists, sir," Saviorhackmon added diplomatically.

"That may be true, but I have faith in all of you; that is if nothing is neglected and that the best decisions are being made, everything will be fine. Besides, I need to do a check up on ambassador Angewomon and I really do not want her husband to rush over there and cause a scene," He said with a sigh.

"Her husband? I'm afraid I'm not following, sir. Is he someone important?" Saviorhackmon asked unsurely.

"He's the commander of the 6th Airborne Shocktroopers of the Republic of Node," Susanoomon replied flatly, "A very tough and big Wargreymon but he's a real softie on the inside... The colonel and I personally know him, whether that's a good thing or not..." Kaisergreymon let out a hearty laugh after his blunt statement, surprising both operatives. "Anyways, I'll be visiting the border in three days, so do inform the Sword Zone military as well as the Royal Knights while I'll handle Fracture." He instructed before he saluted the operatives and left the meeting.

Kaisergreymon stayed to chat a bit with them before he called an end to the video call. Gaioumon sighed heavily and ungracefully sat on the only office chair in the room, feeling a small moment of comfort by the chair's soft synthetic fabric. He leaned back on the chair and gazed up at the bland ceiling with his hands behind his head. Meanwhile, Saviorhackmon immediately went back to work to finish writting his last report before sending it to the colonel.

"I've got to say... you are full of surprises, Saviorhackmon," The black samurai admitted honestly.

"Sorry, lieutenant?" Saviorhackmon perked his head up, looking over at the senior operative.

"I said you impress me everyday. I honestly wouldn't have accomplish half of the things we did if I was alone," Gaioumon clarified while sitting upright on the chair.

"That's not true, lieu- I mean, Gaioumon..." Saviorhackmon stammered abruptly, "I have much to learn from you, I'm following under your orders. You're not giving yourself much credit,"

Gaioumon snickered in response,"Says the guy with the high-tech glasses,"

"I apologize if I've offended you, lieutenant, but it wasn't in my intention to do so," The sergeant said formally.

"By the gods, don't be so formal with me, Saviorhackmon, you're making me feel old," The officer retorted with a chuckle.

"My apologies, Gaioumon,"

A long, awkward silence followed suit after the conversation. Gaioumon took a small nap on his chair while Saviorhackmon continued to type in the report. The light taps and clicks of the keyboard and touchpad droned on. The monotonous taps eventually annoyed Gaioumon. He opened one eye and peeked at Saviorhackmon, still working on his report. He glanced at the clock on the wall behind the knight.

He sighed and decided to end his nap quick. He straightened his back, bent his neck on the sides. He massaged his knuckles before setting his gaze on the younger operative.

"Are you still working on that report?" He asked.

"Um? Oh, no... I'm just chatting to a friend of mine," Saviorhackmon answered honestly.

Gaioumon's right eyebrow rose with curious before he leaned forward, eyeing Saviorhackmon with a mischievious look.

"Girlfriend?" He asked teasingly.

"N-no! Of course not!" Saviorhackmon exclaimed suddenly, surprising himself more than the lieutenant, "J-just a childhood friend of mine... the one that helped me build the glasses,"

Gaioumon simply nodded and lightly tapped his fingers against the table's surface. "Want to go for a drink, Saviorhackmon?" He proposed nonchalantly.

"I'm not a heavy drinker, sir," The knight replied, eyes glued to his laptop.

"I know... but I was suggesting if you wanted a break. I'll go anyway, with or without you," Gaioumon explained as he stood up and head for the door.

Saviorhackmon paused for a moment, frowning before he rapidly typed in a few words and closed his laptop. "Wait for me, Gaioumon," He said quickly as he joined the officer for a break.

* * *

 _Camp Dawnstar, August 28th 2022, Southern Region._

Noriko readjusted the side straps of her kevlar vest and helmet while the soldiers she was embedded with waited for their squad leader to begin today's patrol. She and her camera man, Takuya Kanbara, were among the few civilians who have permission to visit the Digital World and report on the daily lives and missions of the soldiers. Although she considered herself lucky, she now holds a monumental task to report and film a documentary on the expedition, taking in as much information she could get her hands on. Takuya, aside being her camera man, is also her unofficial "Digimon expert"; the reason being he watched all the anime and read all the mangas since he was eight.

She lightly punched her vest, making sure that the heavy kevlar plate in the vest was intact. She then adjusted her earphones with integrated mic. Takuya was doing a last minute check-up on his equipment before he gave her the thumbs ups.

"Um, are you Miss Mochizuki and Mister Kanbara?" A female voice suddenly asked behind her.

Noriko jumped in fright and turned around to see another woman, much taller than her, in full combat gear with a few red strands of hair sticking out on the sides behind her ears.

"Y-yes, that's us," Noriko replied calmly after retaking her breath.

The woman drew her right hand forward and offered a small friendly smile, "Nice to meet you. I'm Sergeant Rika Nonaka, I'll be your guide for the patrol," She introduced formally.

The reporter gladly shook her hand and smiled back. Takuya meanwhile was too busy tinkering with his equipment to greet the sergeant.

"Please forgive him, he can be forgetful and sometimes impolite," Noriko said with an apologetic smile.

"It is fine, miss. At least he's readying himself for the trip," Rika replied calmly. "We'll begin the patrol shortly. You can join us if you want, I'm just going to brief the troops so it should take about five minutes." She informed her before she walked toward the squad.

The soldiers gathered around Rika as she prepares the mission's briefing. The two reporters joined the soldiers, Takuya turned on his camera and started to film. Rika fetched for her notepad through her plate carrier and began to read out the briefing.

"For today's patrol, we will take the main road until we reach the town centre. From there, we will egress eastward for the fields and Huon village where we will meet the village's elders. The patrol is estimated to last two to three hours, possibly more." She glanced up to observe her soldiers. They were all listening so far. "Since it is also the summer holidays in this world, we should expect a lot of activity on the road, especially near the town centre with the weekly market going on. We should regroup with the rest of the platoon once we hit the road for the village..." She tucked her notepad back in its place and gazed up at her squadmates, "Any questions?"

They all shook their heads in response. "In that case; Akiyama, Kanemaru, status," She demanded stoically.

"Team One reporting and ready, sergeant!" Leading Private Akiyama replied.

"Team Two reporting and ready, sergeant!" Leading Private Kanemaru answered dutifully.

"Everyone knows their job. Reporters, you'll be with me on the cruiser. Take your places, ladies and gents, and standby for the lieutenant's green light." She instructed firmly.

"Ryoukai!"

The soldiers immediately dispersed and jogged to their designated vehicles of their small convoy. The convoy featured a Komatsu LAV at the head of the column, a Toyota High Mobility Vehicle in the middle and a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle at the rear. Although the MRAP may seem to be a bit excessive for a 12-man squad, its purpose was to provide the squad superior firepower while having the capacity to carry more ammunation or wounded in the field. It has been an expensive order for the government to field its defense force with improved and better armoured vehicles like the Bushmaster or the V-22 Osprey but it was estimated to be cost effective to give the troops the proper necessities to adapt and face most threats in the Digital World.

Rika led the reporters toward the cruiser and opened the rear doors for them and three other soldiers. They all embarked in the rear cargo while a soldier took the driver's seat and Ryo was in the front passenger seat.

 _"All callsigns, this is Blue Leader. Status report. How copy?"_ The vehicle's radio buzzed in.

Rika picked up the handheld phone to respond, "This is Blue 1-Actual, solid copy. All green. Over."

The other squads replied, confirming their presences before the lieutenant gave them the signal to move out. The engines rumbled to life before the three vehicles joined the platoon's convoy and head for Green Hill. Along the road, Noriko would ask a couple of questions to the soldiers around her. Being their first deployment, they all expressed the same things: excited, nervous but determined to accomplish their missions. Meanwhile, Takuya took some shots of the locals as the convoy entered the town. Although amazed by the sheer diversity of digimon around them, the Japanese soldiers remained focus during the town patrol.

Private Hiroshi Yanaka, the gunner on the lead LAV, would occasionally greet back to the locals with a friendly wave or smile. The Japanese soldiers did receive some courses of the "Hearts and Minds" policy by American and British forces. The two more experienced forces did inform the Japanese that digimon weren't like the local Iraqis or Afghans, who were mostly apprehensive or hateful towards foreign troops. Digimon were the opposite. They were friendly and welcomed the humans with open arms, seeing them as peacekeepers. However the IDDF feared that in the future, the locals might see them as invaders or conquerors, that is why the "Hearts and Minds" policy was still in place to prevent such situation.

Suddenly the small convoy halted in its tracks. The cruiser jolted abruptly on the stone road, its tires screeched, gathering the curious gazes of the surrounding digimon. The sudden stop made the two reporters bump against each other. Rika growled and called the lead LAV through her radio.

"Blue 1-4, this is One-Actual. Interrogative: why the fuck did you stop?" She demanded sternly.

 _"Uh... One-Actual, we've got a situation here... We've got a lot of civvies blocking our path,"_ Private First Class Kaito Ishikawa reported with uncertainty.

"Is it intentional?" She asked while trying to get a visual outside of the cruiser.

 _"Negative. I think we've reached the marketplace,"_

 _"One-Actual, this is 2-1. Interrogative: what are your orders?"_ Asked the stoic Leading Private Junichi Kanemaru from the MRAP.

"I'll dismount with four others and try to wave the crowd off. The rest of you stay in the vehicles and move along." She instructed firmly. She shut her radio off and lightly tapped Akiyama's shoulder, "You're coming along, nominate three others." She ordered flatly.

The Leading Private turned around and glanced at the soldiers in the cargo, "Suwabe, Nanjo and Yusa," He nominated while pointing at them.

Private First Class Masaru Suwabe opened the rear doors of the cruiser and stepped outside with the rest of the group. Rika dismounted from the vehicle and turned to the reporters. "You guys can either stay here or come along, but you must stay behind me no matter what. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, ma'am!" Takuya replied with a thumbs up before he and Noriko stepped off the vehicle.

The marketplace was crowded and loud. Rika's group marched ahead of the convoy and had to shout at the civilians to step away from their path. Takuya was simply amazed and filmed as much of the locals as possible while Noriko took equally as many pictures as she possibly could.

Ryo laughed lightly ahead of them. The reporters looked exactly like cliché tourists, faces glued behind a camera, even with kevlar vests and helmets on. The only things missing to fit the stereotypical tourist were large rucksacks and baseball caps.

The convoy advanced slowly through the sea of civilians and narrow pathways. Sometimes the soldiers were interrupted by eager children wanting to take a picture or ask for candies. To save some time, the soldiers automatically gave in to their demands for sweets. Even the two reporters had to do their share of donating chocolate and cereal bars. In return, however, they would receive free fruits or drinks from nearby merchants, thanking the humans for their service.

"Man, we're suppose to be soldiers, not Santa Claus!" Private Koji Yusa complained, "I already did my fair share of Halloweens!" He added with a groan.

"At least we get free food as well," Nanjo countered with a shrug, taking a bite of an abricot some fruit merchant gave her a minute ago. "Woah, this is so good!"

"Hey, Yoshino-san! Pass me one!" Yanaka demanded behind her. She fetched an abricot through one of her trousers' pockets and tossed it at him. "Thanks!"

"You still have one more for me, Private?" Akiyama asked with a grin.

"Sure thing, sir. Do you want one as well, Sergeant?" She asked Rika after she gave another abricot to Ryo.

"No thanks," Rika replied plainly. "We're two minutes behind schedule but good news is that we're almost out of the marketplace," She glanced at the LAV behind her, "Do you have clear sight on the road?"

"Affirmative, sergeant!" Replied Ishikawa loudly.

"Team, mount up!" She ordered sternly.

The soldiers and reporters jogged back to the Toyota HMV and mounted aboard the cargo at the back. Half an hour later, the convoy was on the dirt road just outside the town, heading for the small village of Huon. Up ahead, they could see dust trails of another convoy from their platoon.

Once they've arrived at the village, the platoon's convoy was gathered at the village's square. From there, Lieutenant Hideo Hongo and Master Sergeant Kazuyuki Okitsu were gone meeting with the village's elders under the grand old oak tree. The rest of the platoon simply dismounted and were either on standby or were placed along the village's surrounding stone fence as overwatch. Rika nominated Akiyama's team on overwatch while the rest of the squad waited at the village square, chatting among themselves or interacting with the locals, primarily children.

Private First Class Satomi Akesaka, one of the platoon's medic, was making ballon animals out of medical gloves and a red marker in front of a crowd of awed and curious children. Private Hiroshi Yanaka, the squad's light-machine gunner, was discussing with the children's parents – or so they assumed – explaining to them the JSDF's purpose, with the reporters filming behind him. Yanaka was not only the squad's eldest, at 27 years of age, but he mans the biggest gun, the new MG5A2, and is also the squad's unofficial "teacher", having a bachelor's degree in education before he enlisted. He sort of has a natural charisma toward younger people. He was tall yet gentle, stern yet compassionate and importantly, a wise and understanding man.

How he became an infantryman still baffles Rika for he had the perfect qualities of a squad leader or an officer. Her train of thoughts were interrupted when her radio suddenly blared to life.

 _"Blue 1-Actual, this is Blue 1-1, we have a situation. Black smoke westbound, at about two klicks. How copy?"_ Akiyama reported calmly.

She spun around to catch sight of thick plumes of smoke rising to the sky. She noticed that similar reports were being shared among the whole platoon. One sergeant began to jog towards the oak tree to summon the lieutenant.

"Solid copy, 1-1, we're egressing to your position, standby. Over." She replied as she jumped off the cruiser and put on her helmet, "First squad on me!" She ordered firmly, gathering the immediate attention of her soldiers. Noriko shortly ran after the squad, leaving Takuya alone for several long seconds before he noticed she was gone and scrambled frantically to follow her.

The squad ran to Ryo's position where his team have already set up a firing line along the stone fence. The team leader peered into his rifle's gunsight, observing the hazy trails of smoke.

"It seems to be coming from that forest..." He reported stoically, "Wait... shouldn't there be a village beyond those trees?" He asked unsurely.

Rika peered into her rifle's gunsight and swore under her breath, realising the grim truth. "Yes... that is tomorrow's patrol,"

She heard more running footsteps coming behind her. More soldiers arrived and posted along the stone fence while Lieutenant Hongo and Master Sergeant Okitsu stared at the black plumes of smoke.

"My god... that's Oakfields over there," The platoon sergeant simply nodded in agreement. "Radio!" Hongo demanded.

A radio operator jogged to the lieutenant's side and saluted the officer sharply. "Get Motherbase on the line." The soldier nodded and contacted the camp's HQ.

While the lieutenant reports the situation to the higher-ups, Rika could only let out a sigh of frustration as the whole platoon was on standby. She wasn't a Tamer anymore who would race towards danger and face rogue digimon head on. Now she's a soldier, she has protocols and orders to follow and soldiers to lead by example and through discipline. She wasn't part of a small group, she's part of a whole complex and huge institution. She enlisted for her friends and family, but she also signed the contract for her country.

She could tell that Ryo was as impatient as her, wanting to respond as soon as possible to any threat or help any people over that village.

"Do we have any units near those coordinates?" Hongo asked through the radio.

 _"Negative, so far, Green Hill Fire Department is about forty five minutes away. You're the closest to the scene. Set up a perimeter there and investigate. Call in CASEVAC if you find any survivors. We'll contact any civilian first responders and EMS. Motherbase out."_

"Alright, platoon! Mount up! We're heading towards the smoke. We don't know what's out there, so keep your eyes open and prepare for a fight!" Hongo ordered after he handed the phone back to the radio operator.

Everyone jumped into action and ran to the vehicles. The platoon leader had to explain briefly to the elders about their sudden departure. Once everyone was set, the convoy drove out of the village and raced towards the plumes of smoke.

The dirt road led the convoy into the forest. The tall trees blocked most of the sunlight, reducing visibility. The vehicles slowed down their pace, everyone was on edge and tense. The gunners kept their eyes open, scrutinizing their surrounding. It was silent, eerie and dreadful. Then they've reached a clearing. It was the village, well what was left of it.

The dry earth was covered in a thick layer of ash. Crumbled ruins were scattered across the clearing, smoke hazily rose up to the air. The pungent smell of sulfur was heavy in the air, mixed with dust and ash that irritated the eyes. The convoy continued to drive on the road, the soldiers observing the devastated village. The vehicles finally stopped at a well. The troops dismounted and formed up an established perimeter.

Dead leaves and twigs snapped while clouds of ash puffed out under her combat boots. Noriko was simply shocked and at a loss for words while Takuya kept filming the scene. The reporters stayed near the cruiser while the soldiers performed their tasks. A couple of teams spread out to search for any survivors. Master Sergeant Okitsu led a small group to report on the damages. The platoon's combat medics were on standby, waiting to spring to action when necessary.

"How could we've missed this?" Asked Private First Class Hiroshi Yamato worringly, the radio operator.

"It can't have been an attack or else we would've definitely heard it," Hongo pointed out flatly, "So it should be a fire. From the looks of it, the fire happened recently, maybe even last night. But we need to determine the cause first,"

"Should I contact CASEVAC, lieutenant?" The private asked.

"Not yet, we still don't know if there are any survivors," Hongo replied before he walked toward the well.

He took his flashlight and peered into the well, lighting down the hole. The well's empty apart from the bucket that was detached from the support beam. He turned around as the sounds of heavy boots grew louder behind him.

"What's the sitrep, Master Sergeant?"

The platoon sergeant pulled out his notepad and recited his report: "So far, everything was razed to the ground. If everyone had been perished, and we assume that each household had a family of four, the death toll would currently stand between 312 to 440 digimon. Could be higher." He reported stoically.

"That's great to hear two days after the operation just started..." Hongo said sarcastically. "Any theories on the cause?"

"Well, at first glance, it seems to be some wildfire going off at the wrong time due to the current heatwave. But we've dug around a bit and noted that a fire this devastating and sporatic, it should've burned the whole forest down..."

Hongo looked around and realised that most of the trees looked generally healthy eventhough they were covered in ash.

"Most trees around the village are still humid," Okitsu continued, "My second theory is that this might be a premeditated attack. Now why and by whom, we're still in the dark but I suggest that once we're done here, we head back to Huon village and ask around for a bit," He concluded as a matter-of-fact.

"Yeah... we'll do that later..." Hongo agreed, the reality of this incident dawning on him.

The blanket of leaves and branches snapped under her feet as she and her squad combed the area either for clues or survivors. Twenty minutes have passed since the search began, and so far there were no results.

Ryo was taking the lead, keeping his eyes and ears wide open for any sounds and details. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and sharply raised his left fist up, halting the whole squad. Rika waved her left hand down, signalling the troops to crouch down. She made her way beside Ryo, who remained quiet as he scanned their surroundings.

"Found something?" She asked lowly.

"Heard something," He whispered back. "Over there..." He pointed to a ruin a little bit to their right ahead of them.

She turned around and nominated Private Nanjo and Private First Class Uchida to investigate the building with them. The rest of the squad stay put while the group of four slowly and cautiously made their way towards the crumbled house. A third of the building had been burnt to the ground, a chunk of the collapsed roof blocked the doorway, forcing the team to search for another entry. They've found the back door, partial blocked by burnt woodplanks. Uchida and Ryo pulled out the planks and coughed violently as dust and smoke shot out of the entryway. Nanjo turned on her torchlight and stepped in first, guiding the team into the building.

Their investigation came to a short end when they all heard soft crying coming from a room to their left. Nanjo peered into the room that looked like a kitchen. The soldiers entered and listened to the quiet sobs. Rika stepped closer towards the kitchen sink as the crying went quieter. She stopped just in front of the sink and looked down. There was a small curtain underneath the sink. She slung her rifle to the side and bent down. Carefully, she opened the curtain and was met with a frightened and trembling digimon.

The young creature gasped and backed away into a corner, completely overtaken by fear. Rika immediately recognised the digimon as a Lopmon. Going as smoothly as possible, Rika took off her helmet and raised her hands in a friendly manner.

"Hey there..." Lopmon flinched and hid behind their long ears, "Don't worry, we won't harm you, I promise." Rika added with a smile.

Lopmon didn't respond nor did they look back at her. They were trembling like a leaf. The digimon was covered in ash, making it difficult for Rika to determine if they were injured or not.

"Look, we're humans. We're with the IDDF, the good guys," She said while showing the IDDF emblem patch on her right sleeve. The patch featured the Globe in green and blue and a white shield in the background.

This prompted Lopmon to peek over their ears and stare at the emblem. Rika's smile grew wider, succeeding on getting a response from them. "My name's Rika, what's your name?" She asked kindly.

"L-Lopmon..." She replied shyly.

"Lopmon, huh? That's a nice name," Rika complimented. The others were already standing behind her, waiting for the digimon to come out of their hiding spot, "Listen, I need you to come with us, alright? We're going to take care of you and take you to a safer place. Do you trust me?" She asked as she gently reached her right hand toward Lopmon.

Hesitantly, Lopmon grasped her hand and allowed the soldier to pull her out of hiding spot and carry her in her arms. Rika wiped a hand across the digimon's face to clean her from the ash.

"There, much better, don't you think?" Lopmon nervously nodded, still shaking in Rika's arms.

Ryo led the team out of the building and contacted the lieutenant. Once Rika regrouped with the squad, everyone was gathered around her, staring at Lopmon as if she was the most precious creature.

"Oh my god, it's so adorable!" PFC. Ishikawa exclaimed, "Can I take a picture?"

"'She', private," Rika corrected him sternly, "And no, you can't. You're on duty and you're a soldier, not a tourist on holiday. Now all of you back off and back in formation." She ordered coldly.

Akiyama stood beside her, his radio in hand, "Just got word from LT that she's not the only survivor. They've just found more kids, but still no adults,"

"We'll handle that later, right now, we need to get our bearings and plan out our next course of action," Rika said with a frown.

So far, the platoon have found seven survivors: Lopmon, Erismon, two Burgamon, Dracomon, Gabumon, all children, and Dobermon, the village's surviving guardian. According to him, he was ordered to lead the children to a safe spot but got separated in the chaos. He is unfortunately too weak to give anymore intel. But one thing was clear: this was an attack.

Medevac was called in for the gravely wounded Dobermon while the children hopped aboard the MRAP in Rika's convoy. Their dull eyes were quickly replaced with sparkling curiosity and amazement once they were in the large armoured personnel carrier. Joining them was Private First Class Satomi Akesaka, one of the platoon's medic, to monitor the children's well-being.

The Green Hill EMTs and search and rescue teams arrived at the burned down village to search for any other survivors. Meanwhile Hongo's platoon had to return to base, HQ has sent another platoon to interrogate the locals at Huon village.

It was around 1900 hours local time when the convoy finally arrived to base. The base's medics quickly took care of the children at the hospital while the soldiers went to the hangar for a debrief of the patrol. Noriko and Takuya were exhausted from today's activities yet they followed the soldiers to the hangar, making sure to at least take some notes before they could get a warm meal before hitting the showers.

* * *

The locker room was relatively quiet despite it being full of men gearing up. Few words were exchanged between these highly trained and experienced soldiers. They passed around to each other some equipment, only communicating through hand gestures or nods. These men all wore the famed Multicam uniform however their flag patch to indicate their nation was missing. It was intentional to protect their identities from the world, even from the conventional soldiers. No flag patch, no name tag and mandatory balaclava and combat sunglasses to hide their faces.

That said, these men knew each other well enough to call each other by codenames, even in the field at night. The locker room was one of the few locations where they were free from these restrictions for a moment as they put on their gear and head off to the briefing room.

Among these operators was Sergeant Marcus Damon, the squad's CQB specialist and "Digi" expert, so far. Unlike his squadmates, he was the real foreigner when the unit was formed. Hailing from a peculiar and unorthodox military background, he was quickly accepted in the unit and by the men for he's one of the few to have the most experience in combat in the whole unit. The others being his squad leader, and hero of Japan, First Lieutenant Yōji "Avenger" Itami, and their platoon commander.

He donned his light ballistic vest, picked up his primary weapon and fast tactical helmet before sporting the black balaclava and glasses. Waiting at the doorframe was their platoon sergeant, making sure each operator was fully equipped for the upcoming op. He would stop each operator at the door to quickly inspect his gear and equipment. A rather unnecessary procedure, in Marcus's opinion, for these men were on point and professional, but he guessed it never hurts to be triple careful.

The whole platoon was gathered in the meeting room. The lights went off with only the projector and the flat white screen to provide a dim source of illumination. Standing straightly beside the screen was their platoon commander, Captain Kenyuu "Godfather" Yuuki, staring at the men with cold, stern eyes. Once everyone was settled, he coughed lightly and began the mission briefing by displaying a digital map of the Metal Empire's Platinum Mountains.

"Gentlemen, for this operation, there will be two phases: the reconnaissance phase and the intervention phase. Our mission: locate the enemy base and kill or capture any key enemy targets. The platoon will be divided into two task forces. Alpha squad will form Task Force "Bloodhounds" while Bravo and Charlie squads will form Task Force "Hunters". Bloodhounds will deploy by HALO jump into the Platinum Mountains and set up an observation post on Kilo 3..." He pointed at the designated grid on the map, "From there, you should have optimal view on the Iron Forest and these two villages at the base of the mountain. Hunters will be deployed by HALO jump two klicks south-east of Bloodhounds to secure and fortify an abandonned military outpost. This base will be your new home for the next three weeks. You will receive daily supplies by helicopter from the Marines based at the nearby valley."

"From the intel we've got, the terrorists have a base located in the forest and are using the mountains as a training site as well as a trading route to smuggle in supplies and weapons. Bloodhounds will identify these traders and arrest them if possible. Locate any person of interest and supply caches if there are any. We do not know when the intervention phase begins, for we do not have the sufficient intel, hence the recon phase. But once we'll receive the signal, we will attack the terrorists' base and hopefully end their operations for good."

"This op is similar to our previous deployment but now we will be trekking in hot waters because we will be sitting at the very edge of the Metal Empire's border..." He stopped a moment to take a sip from his cup of water before continuing, "The terrain is rough and uneven, so it will be difficult to tread there, watch your feet and be aware for any random landslides. It is also important to note that the villages are not what we see in the Middle-East or Afghanistan. This is the Metal Empire, so they are well-developed and larger than any common village. However D-Brigade presence is low in the AO. Do not let them catch you in open view. The terrorists, on the other hand, are crawling in this area, this is their main turf. They are well-trained, tough and ruthless. Extreme caution is advised and as for the wildlife, there should be nothing to worry about, no bugs to bite you or snakes to catch your balls at night..." The whole platoon chuckled at the light humour.

"Jokes aside, this is a very important mission. This is our chance to end a conflict without the need of conventional troops. The Digital Marines and a Battle Group of the JSDF will be deployed at the Sword Zone twenty klicks away from your position, so other than the supply runs, you'll be pretty isolated. And I want to keep it as that. Conceal your positions, do not leave a single mark of your presence and do not interract with the locals. Any questions?"

"What are our ROE?" Asked Master-Sergeant Kazuki "Jin-Roh" Fuse, a heavy weapons specialist.

"Arrest them any D-Brigade personel and civilian, they may be terrorist spies. If you're in a desperate situation, eliminate them on the spot. The same goes for any tangoes that is not a POI." The captain answered coldly.

Marcus raised his hand up, "What do we do about caches?"

"Destroy them discreetly if possible," Godfather replied plainly.

"Do we have any support?" Asked Sergeant First Class Shiroh "Archer" Nakagawa, one of the platoon's snipers.

"Negative," The operators seemed to be disappointed. Lacking any kind of support on a mission could be very dangerous but it is a risk that they have no choice but to accept. "The intel we've been provided so far aren't sufficient enough. From what we got from our allies, there's apparently a conspiracy behind all of this insurgency, and they aid that the ME is somehow involved in it. Well that was the gist of it , anyway. Like I said, we're about to tread on hot waters, one mistake could lead to war." Yuuki informed them with a serious voice. "Rendez-vous at Hangar 3 in thirty minutes. Finish up your preps."

The room fell silent for seconds. The men knew their roles in this operation and were aware of the dangers and risks that come with it. Satisfied with the lack of questions, Yuuki nodded quietly, adjourning the briefing. The men stood up and filed out of the room in silence, heading back to their barracks to gather the rest of their equipment.

The sun was already setting as they reassembled at the hangar. A Kawasaki C-1 was pulling up to the tarmac, driving to a more suitable position before letting the operators in. The men did a last minute check-up. Marcus tightened all the straps around his body: his plate carrier, rifle sling, pistol holster, parachute bag... He regulated the pilot oxygen mask strapped to his face, making sure a steady flow of oxygen came through. He flipped down his NVGs, inspecting the batteries and flipped them up. He finally tapped his helmet to make sure it held on to his head. The squad leader checked up on his squadmates, glancing up and down and lightly punching their shoulder. Itami walked up to Damon and observed him. He lightly punched him on the shoulder and the sergeant gave a thumbs up in reply.

Itami turned his radio on; "Alright, Bloodhounds, this is Avenger, I want status report."

Each man replied accordingly. The signal was good so far, comms were working and the airplane was set and ready to go. He raised his right fist up, gathering the attention of his men. He beckoned them to form a single file line in front of him. Once in formation, he spun around and waved his hand forward. On cue, they marched towards the aircraft's rear ramp at a disciplined pace. The aircraft's crewmembers greeted them with a sharp salute before returning to their tasks.

They took their seats and waited patiently for the airplane to lift off and fly towards their dropping point.

The gentle hum of the engines was a welcomed sound for most operators. For Itami, it was a bit unnerving. It has been only four months since he joined the unit and he was already given responsibility of a squad and a mission. Of course, this squad was far different from Third Recon, his squadmates are all capable, highly trained, experienced and skilled soldiers unlike the regulars from his previous squad. He did missed them though, they were friends to him. But since his first deployment in the Digital World, his hobby became less of a priority. He was Ranger qualified and still a SFG operator but he was a slacker at best. Now though, he wanted to do more for his country, he wanted to change his way of life, have a real purpose and correct it. That's how he ended up in this unit, Data Squad.

The selection course was unforgiving and brutal, far harder than Ranger and Special Forces courses combined. But he pulled through and vowed to serve his country first, his hobby second. At first there were doubts. Was he really fit for this? Will he die in his first mission? Can he lead his new squad? The scars from his first deployment were still fresh in his psyche. He had witnessed the horrors of war, the constant stressful, chaotic and intense battles he and his fellow soldiers had been through. Deep down, past his grizzled and serious façade, he was afraid. How he managed to pass the psychological evaluations was a mystery to him. He quickly stomped down his doubts and fear with a quick shake of his head. His fingers were trembling on his knees. He took in a deep breath and exhaled just as the lights turned red.

"Two minutes..." The pilot announced flatly.

The rear ramp opened down, a rush of cool air flooded strongly in the cargo. The operators stood up, their rythmic breathing muffled by the strong howls of the wind. A black mass appeared before them. They all flipped down their NVGs and waited for Itami's signal. The lieutenant wobbled over to the edge, peering down at the cloudless night sky. The light beside him flushed green. He turned around and a swung an arm down. The operators, in a single line, walked to the edge of the ramp and jumped off in stride. When everyone else has dropped off, he saluted at the nearest crewmember and jumped into the void, disappearing into the sea of darkness in the blink of an eye.

The Bloodhounds were off their leashes. The mission has begun.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the slow update, had to rewrite this chapter a lot. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this story so far. Favourite/ Follow it if you want and reviews are appreciated. In other news, I've been re-reading some of my previous stories and decided to tweak some of them, notably The Battle of Tokyo (Just noticed that indeed, there are some flaws like useless plot elements and my main characters are a bit OP). Expect some changes, story-wise. That's all I have to say for now. _À la prochaine! :D_**


	5. Lurking in the Shadows

Chapter 5:

Lurking in the Shadows

 _Camp Dawnstar, August 29th 2022, Southern Region._

Lieutenant-General Yamamoto took another sip of coffee while the personnel in the war room worked tiredlessly. Dozens of monitors displayed drone images of Data Squad's activity on the ground, giving the operators direct intel of the AO from the air. So far, the two task forces accomplished phase one of the operation. The "Bloodhounds" were in position on top of a hill, overseeing the vast valley below them. The "Hunters" have secured the abandonned base at the other side of the mountain, making the necessary preparations to get it up and running.

He just got word that the Digital Marines and the First Ground Combat Brigade _"Kyubi"_ were on their way to Sword Zone as planned. From earlier reports, hostile activity was low, a couple of foot patrols here and there. Locals would sometimes trek to the mountains to pick the berries from the local shrubbery. So far, the Bloodhounds remain undetected.

A First Lieutenant stood sharply to his right and saluted. The senior officer turned to him and curtly saluted back.

"Reports from the refugees, sir," The lieutenant stated while handing out the document.

"Anything useful?" Yamamoto asked bluntly while reading briefly the document.

"Other than confirming our theory, not much unfortunately," The junior officer replied flatly, "The guardian is still in recovery so we had to rely on the children. It is not a surprise that most of them are still in a state of shock to answer our questions,"

"Hmm... we'll give them some time. For now, we'll provide them shelter, food, water and medicine if necessary. Have a team of medics and soldiers to take care of them." He instructed firmly.

The First Lieutenant nodded and made a turn for the exit, only to be stopped by the Expeditionary Force Commander.

"And try to find out if the children have any family relatives in the region. If necessary, contact those outside of the continent, we can't take care of them forever."

"Will do, sir," The younger officer replied dutifully.

* * *

 _Platinum Mountains, Sword Zone, 0840 hours local time._

The wind blew gently against their camouflaged tents, the fabrics fluttered quietly while the two occupants obversed the rocky terrain below them. The cool wind did little to compensate for the excruciating heat that was hittting the surface. The ground was completely dried up, most of the local plants, grass and trees were dead, like animal carcasses in a desert, eaten to the bones by maggots, flies and vultures. Parts of the mountain's surface were covered in platinum, hence its name, that reflected the sunlight, casting parts of the mountain in a blazing glow. It was one of the source of the empire's wealthy and infinite-like natural resources that brought it to its current powerful status. Without those crucial assets, the whole empire would crumble to the ground, metaphorically and literally.

The air suddenly shifted, though faintly. One of the operators, Marcus "Sledge" Damon, turned around to spot small silhouettes of C-130 Hercules in the distance. He hummed and turned his gaze back behind the binoculars.

"The regulars are here," He said casually.

"Mmhm," First Lieutenant Itami replied while scribbling on his notepad. "Bloodhound 0-2, this is Bloodhound 0-1, status report." Itami radioed to Sergeant First Class "Archer".

 _"Everything's quiet, 0-1, no hostiles in sight and civvies are doing their thing. How copy? Over,"_ The operator from the second observation team replied calmly.

"Solid copy, 0-2. Bloodhound 0-5, this is 0-1, status."

 _"We just picked up suspicious activity on our village. Large convoy, dozens of caravans with armed foot mobiles, coming from far East, probably our arms dealer,"_ Sergeant First Class Takahiro "Lancer" Sakurai reported with a sense of urgency in his voice.

"Eagle Eye, can you spot that convoy for us?" Itami requested while fetching the tactical tablet. He turned it on just in time for the screen to display Eagle Eye's viewpoint.

 _"We can confirm there's at least twenty medium-sized caravans, with forty foot mobiles on the sides, probably guards,"_ The drone operator reported.

"Goliath, permission to switch mission priority on the caravans, they may give us some intel on the terrorists' networks," Itami requested reasonably.

 _"Permission granted, Bloodhound 0-1. New objective, observe and investigate the caravans. Retrieve any intel on the ground. We will provide air recon in the mean time."_ Lieutenant-General Yamamoto replied sternly.

"Copy that. To all Bloodhounds, egress to 0-5's position and standby for further orders. Keep it stealthy and stay frosty, gents." Itami instructed before he tucked the tablet back in his plate carrier. He gave a light nudge to Damon, "Let's go."

"Copy, boss,"

* * *

The drone's viewpoint followed the suspicious convoy, far up in the sky and pratically invisible to the naked eye. The caravans were towed by horse-like digimon at a moderate pace. The villagers seemed to be unfazed by their presence, either this was common sight for them or they were supporting the terrorists. This sort of insurgency should be handled by the British or the Americans, since they have more experience in counter-insurgency than Japan.

Yamamoto leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes, the radio chatters and the personnel working droned on in the background. He opened his eyes and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table while gazing at the numerous monitors presented to him.

 _"Convoy's still egressing through the village. Destination's currently unknown,"_ One of the operators on the field reported.

"There's no way for us to tell if the locals are with or against the terrorists, is there?" He asked out loud.

"Negative. We have insufficient intel on the local populace," Captain Yuuki answered coldly, sitting beside him. The senior operator had a stoic frown on his face, making it unreadable to the untrained eye.

"Hmm, sending the operators to investigate could put them in hot waters in seconds. We can't rely on our allies since they also have as much intel as we do," The lieutenant-general stated pensively.

"And asking for the Metal Empire is out of the question," Sergeant-Major Akira "Chief" Higaki added with a scowl.

"Can we perhaps trace back with the route they took?" Yuuki suggested.

The drone operator turned to Yamamoto for his approval. "Is that feasible?" The senior officer asked.

"We can try, sir, but that road leads to other different settlement," The enlisted soldier informed.

"We'll have nothing to lose so go for it." Yamamoto instructed.

After some searching around, the drone operator gave them the result, "Sir, the closest town's about eight klicks South-West of Hunters' position. It is possible that the caravans may come from there,"

"Then we'll start there. I'll be sending out a squad of Hunters. We'll try to get the convoy's starting point. Try to find any civilian company or infrastructure that would provide caravan services." Yuuki requested calmly, already forming a new mission for Data Squad.

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, August 30th 2022, Sword Zone._

Susanoomon's visit has been delayed due to an abrupt energy shutdown on all Locomon and Trailmon stations. This meant that he was stuck in another country for another twenty-four hours. It was good news for the humans since it gave them an extra day to properly settle in the camp and organise security with the Swod Zone military. This also could've been an extra day off for Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon, however it seems that Angewomon's husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Wargreymon, planned the same trip ahead of time, thus arriving at the camp this morning.

The two operatives waited patiently for the senior officer to cross the camp's screening checkpoint. Saviorhackmon readjusted his glasses on his forehead before taking a glance back at his cape. After the accident at the abandonned warehouse, Gaioumon had him cut it shorter so he wouldn't trip on himself again. It was emotionally tough for the young operative because it was so soft and comforting for him whenever he took a nap. Alas, the red cape now arrived to his hips.

The chain-linked fence gate opened with a sudden screech. Both TEAR operatives cringed at the ear-splintering sound. Standing at the other side was the commander of the 6th Airborne Shocktroopers, staring at the gate with a grimace. He turned to one of the soldiers on the guard post.

"By the Divines, get some lube or something for that gate, you'll get everyone deaf one day," He said half-seriously, half-jokingly. "Ah good morning, gents," He greeted Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon in a friendly tone.

They both were a bit surprised by his friendly attitude. They simply greeted back with a sharp salute and introduced themselves.

"Lieutenant Gaioumon, reporting for duty," The dragon samurai spoke up.

"Sergeant Saviorhackmon, reporting for duty!" His partner said with more energy in his voice.

"Woah, relax, bud. This isn't a dorm inspection," Wargreymon responded with a laugh, "Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet the both of you. I've heard a lot about you from Kaisergreymon,"

After some brief chat, the two operatives gave him a quick tour of the camp, mentionning the humans' recent arrival as they walk by the Americans' and Japanese's camp. The humans were about four hundred soldiers on base, with more than a hundred armoured vehicles. Wargeymon noted it was quite small for a peacekeeping force, given the fact that the D-Brigade is currently outnumbering 3 to 1 the Sword Zone Armed Forces on the field. Gaioumon couldn't agree more with him.

Finally they've reached the camp's hospital, where Ambassador Angewomon had been staying at since the embassy attack. She wasn't gravely wounded; just a couple of bruises and small cuts, but two of her wings were crippled and took much longer to fully heal up.

"She's on the second floor, room 209, sir," The nurse at the lobby desk pointed out to Wargreymon.

Without a warning, he hastilly walked up the staircases that led to the second floor. Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon quickly caught up with him.

"I have a feeling that the minister was right after all," Saviorhackmon whispered with a grin.

"Tell me about it," Gaioumon replied with a chuckle.

Wargreymon reached the floor and glanced at both sides of the long hallway, scanning each door number to find his wife's room. He gasped when he found room 209. The two operatives caught a glimpse of him disappearing into the hallway. They quickened their pace until they've reached the floor. Saviorhackmon was the first to spot Wargreymon barging in the room.

"Sir, wait!" But his words fell on deaf ears. He jogged towards the room with the lieutenant behind him. "You shouldn't-" He couldn't finish his sentence. He was too shocked at the scene before him.

Inside the bland white hospital room was a single bed where Angewomon sat up. She had a couple of bandages and patches on her, but seemed overall completely fine. There was a tray of food on her bed while a nurse was beside her, probably checking up on her. Then there was Wargreymon hugging his wife dearly with teary eyes.

Saviorhackmon didn't know if he should stop the commander from potentially harming the ambassador or stand there and save his own skin.

"Oh darling! I was worried and scared!" Wargreymon cried, "I thought I've lost you for good!"

Angewomon laughed nervously and patted her husband's head in response. She gave an apologetic smile to the nurse, "This is my husband. He's big and intimidating but he's a huge softball on the inside," She explained sheepishly.

"I can see that, ma'am," The Ranamon nurse said with wide, surprised eyes, "Though that is cute," She added with a giggle.

"Don't encourage him," Angewomon retorted jokingly. She shifted her gaze to the other two new visitors, "How may I help you, gentlemen?" She asked politely.

"Um... We're terribly sorry, ma'am, but your husband here is unpredictable," Gaioumon said formally. "Should we pry him off of you?"

She let out a hearty laugh and shook her head, "There's no need for that. Besides only Susanoomon and Kaisergreymon can get this big doofus off me,"

"Hey! I'm right here!" Wargreymon complained, still embracing Angewomon.

"I know, darling, but you're embarrassing yourself in front of everyone here,"

"Don't care!" He shot back childishly.

Saviorhackmon tried to suppress his laugh. "Enjoy this moment while you still can because it will be your last," Gaioumon told him with a sly grin.

Angewomon sighed and planted a kiss on Wargreymon's forehead, "Fine, you can stay here. Is there anything else, lieutenant?" She asked without looking at the officer.

"Huh, well Susanoomon was supposed to be here today but there was a problem on the way. He'll be able to visit you in the next twenty four hours." She hummed in response, still caressing her husband with a soft smile.

"Should we leave, ma'am?" Saviorhackmon asked unsurely.

"I think it is for the best now," She answered gratefully.

"Call me when you're done with breakfast, ma'am," Ranamon informed her as she headed for the door.

"I believe that'll be difficult with him around," Angewomon replied, earning a laugh from the nurse.

The two operatives quietly made their way out of the hospital and towards their barracks. The walk was filled with an awkward silence until Saviorhackmon decided to break the ice. "Never thought I'll see a commander to act like that," He commented.

"Well, digimon do weird things when they're in love," Gaioumon stated with a shrug.

* * *

 _Coppersfield, 2320 hours local time, Metal Empire._

The drones had been tracking the caravans until they've reach a warehouse. Itami's squad was still posted on the mountain, observing the merchants' activity closely. So far, a small group traveled to the village's square to sell their goods: fresh food, drinks and roasted meat. It looks normal, though at the warehouse, there has been some unusual activity. At around 1500 hours, a group of cloaked digimon entered the warehouse, staying there for two hours before leaving in fewer numbers and carrying two crates with them.

Sending the squad to investigate was risky for they officially do not have jurisdiction on Metal Empire soil; in other words, their presence was a declaration of war. Nonetheless, Yamamoto was determined to get additional intel and hopefully find a way to disrupt the terrorist network.

At night, the Bloodhounds with a fireteam of Hunters moved into the village under the moonless sky. They weaved through the narrow streets and alley like spectres, getting closer the target building in minutes. They then occupied an abandonned apartment a couple of streets away, parallel to the warehouse. The warehouse was surrounded by a high, yet simple, chain-linked fence with only two entrances. Several street lights were installed along the fence, lighting up the warehouse and street. There was a vacant guard post at the front entrance. There was also a wide, concrete courtyard where the caravans were gathered with all the merchandise. Finally, next to the back entrance was the power generator.

The warehouse itself was three stories high. A fire escape had been installed on the left side where you can access the rooftop, second floor windows and ground floor. The operators see could that there were some digimon still awake at this hour, thanks to the large windows on the first and ground floor that were lit up. The second floor, where they assumed were the offices, was completely dark.

The operators decided to spilt the squad into three teams: an assault team, a breacher team and a sniper team.

The sniper team was posted on the apartment's rooftop. The breacher team, led by Itami, will infiltrate from the back entrance, take out the power generator and proceed with breaching the second floor through the fire escape. Once the power was out, the assault team - the Hunters fireteam - led by Second Lieutenant Ozuma "Rabbit" Horiuchi, will infiltrate through the front entrance then proceed to the caravans to gather whatever intel they could get their hands on. If nothing is of interest, then they'll storm the warehouse through the front door and detain any suspects on sight.

The street was dead silent. Very few buildings had lights on, most of the villagers were either asleep or enjoying the calm silence that basked their village. Soft, rapid footsteps pattered on the wet cobblestone street from the earlier short rainfall. Itami and his team approached swiftly and silently the back entrance. The entrance was a simple chain-linked gate with a metal padlock.

Itami propped his right fist with two erected fingers to form the blades of a pair of scissors. Sergeant Hikaru "Manny" Suzuki came to him with a pair of bolt cutters. In a fluid motion, he cut the padlock without making too much noise, opened the gate and disposed of the broken padlock in his ammo dump pouch.

It was up to Damon to cut power off with Suzuki's assistance while the rest of the team hugged the wall just beneath the fire escape.

The more experienced operator unscrewed the generator's power hatch. He took Suzuki's wire cutters and snapped out every thick wire in the power hatch. Slowly the power went off in the entire area. On cue, the assault team broke through the front entrance, clearing the guard post. The breacher team mounted up the fire escape as quietly as possible. Each step they took made the black metallic frame creack in response.

"Goliath, this is Bloodhound 0-1, we're egressing to the second floor, over." Itami reported in a whisper.

 _"Copy that. Remain vigilant. Gather all possible intel in those offices. You have exactly thirty minutes to search and disappear into the night. Good luck. Goliath out."_

"Like we didn't know that," Master Sergeant Kazuki "Jin-Roh" Fuse commented sarcastically.

"Shut your trap and get this window open already," Itami sneered back once they were on the second floor level.

Fuse took out his crowbar and pried the window open, breaking a piece of glass and splintering the ledge. The sound of wood cracking and glass shattering made everyone cringe at the sudden loud noises. Fearing the worst, he and Damon jumped in first, their suppressed PDWs at the low-ready, sweeping the small office for any targets.

"Clear," Fuse announced quietly.

Damon made his way to the door and placed his right ear against it, listening carefully to the otherside. He could faintly hear laughter from the ground floor along with idle chatter and music blasting from the first floor. He turned to the rest of the team and gave a thumbs up. Carefully, he opened the door, the AAC Honey Badger's imuzzle slightly lowered. Greeting him was a narrow hallway with three doors on each side. Just next to the office was the only staircase to the first floor. He swiftly turned around and spotted two doors on each side.

The team spread around and branched off to clear each room behind him while Itami searched through the first office for any useful intel.

 _"This is Hunter 2-1, objective Alpha's empty. Proceeding to Objective Bravo, over."_ Damon heard in his headset. He was tasked with covering the staircase.

He spotted a growing silhouette on the floor boards, closing in on the staircase. He hid back and took out his tazer. According to Hypnos, digimon are somehow more sensible to electricity. This meant that a quick taze would guarantee a knock out for low level digimon; anything longer could potential burn and kill them. He didn't know how they knew that nor did he care, he was simply hoping that it'll work.

The digimon walked up the steps, each board groaned at each step they took. Damon remained calm and readied his tazer. Just as the digimon planted their first foot on the second floor, Damon lunged at them, muffled their mouth with his gloved hand, bashed them against the wall and tazed them for three seconds. The digimon, a Strikedramon, gasped in pain and shock before falling unconsciously in the man's arms. The operator gently laid the digimon on the ground.

"Yo, Strikedramon! Is everything okay up there?" Shouted another voice from below.

Damon froze in place, not expecting another digimon. He looked behind to see his teammates already out of the offices and weapons drawn up, preparing for a fight.

"Strikedramon?" The digimon asked worringly as they walked closer to the staircase.

He gave his teammates the _"What-the-fuck-should-I-do?"_ look. Through the NVGs, he could clearly see the Master Sergeant giving him the stern _"Just-do-something-damnit!"_ glare. The digimon approached the staircase once more, calling out to his unconscious friend.

"Should I call some help?" They asked with growing concern.

Damon coughed and closed his eyes, "Uh... no! I'm fine... I, uh, just tripped on my way, that is all," He replied in his normal voice.

 _"What the fuck!"_ Fuse hissed furiously, extremely pissed that Damon just compromised the while op.

"Oh, well okay then. Just make sure the doors are shut and join us for some beer, okay?" The digimon said nonchalantly as they walked away.

"You got it!" Damon replied. After a moment of silence, everyone visibly relaxed, amazed that it actually worked. He breathed out in relief and swept away the beads of sweat on his forehead. "I've got to be on a lucky streak..." He thought to himself.

 _"All units, be advised: two unknown birds incoming to your West, 600 meters,"_ Goliath announced firmly.

 _"Goliath, this is Hunter 2-1. Interrogative: are those friendly by any chance?"_

 _"Negative. The birds' design are alien to us. We suspect that they may be D-Brigade Special Forces,"_ Yamamoto informed them coldly.

"That's fucking great..." Damon muttered under his breath.

 _"What's the plan then, sir?"_ Itami asked, slightly unnerved by this turn of event.

 _"Resume the search. You have ten minutes to get out of here, empty-handed or not doesn't matter. Eliminate all hostiles if you must."_ The general instructed stoically. This meant that he was expecting a firefight with Metal Empire spec ops. This could get ugly for everyone.

 _"Requesting to aid Bloodhounds in their search, sir?"_ Second Lieutenant Horiuchi requested.

 _"Request granted. Make sure to use Exit Bravo when you're all done."_

 _"Bloodhound 0-1, this is Bloodhound 0-4, I've got eyes of enemy birds. One is hovering on the rooftop while the second is about to land on the courtyard. Hurry your ass up, LT."_ Sergeant First Class Shiroh "Archer" Nakagawa , the squad's sniper, informed calmly.

"Aye, aye, we're almost done," Itami replied casually, walking out of the first office with a bag full of computer hardwares and files.

The whole team looked up at the ceiling when they felt light vibrations from above. They then heard several feet hitting the roof, moving all around above of their heads.

 _"I've spotted a dozen hostiles, foot mobiles on the roof..."_ There was a moment of tense silent. Dread seeped through each of them, their weapons raised as they braced for a fight. Then came the dreadful report from their sniper: _"They're about to breach the second floor on all sides!"_

At the same time, they all heard a loud crash and explosion, followed by pained screams and angry shouts as D-Brigade Special Forces breached the warehouse's front entrance. Several windows on the second floor shattered with a loud bang as hostile Sealsdramon stormed in by rappel. The operators hid themselves in the shadows, awaiting for the digimon spec ops to appear in the dark hallway. Despite the gunfight that happened on the ground floor, the Opfor special forces on the second floor moved in quietly, probably trying to surprise the terrorists from above.

Damon trained the Honey Badger on one closed door, raising to chest level and index slightly pressing the trigger. He eased his breathing and waited for his potential target like a predator stalking its prey, waiting for the right moment to pounce for the kill. The door knob shook and pulled down. The wooden door opened. He could hear two sets of footsteps. Through the hazy green vision of his NVGs, a Sealsdramon cautiously walked out of the office, their backs turned to him. They briefly checked the opposite side of the hallway before turning to him and gasped.

Three, silent shots rang out of Damon's PDW. The subsonic rounds wisped through the air and penetrated the digimon's body armour. Blood gushed out of the wounds in sporatic liquid streams before the body hit the door frame and slowly slid down to the ground.

Without checking the body, Damon rushed in the office, coming face to face with the second spec ops operator. In a split second, he fired another rapid burst of .300 AAC Blackout rounds. The large rounds tore through the digimon's chest, shattering their ribcages and flesh. They quickly fell with a heavy, loud stud. He fired two more shots to the head to delete them for good.

"Contact front!" He heard Fuse warn urgently before weapons started to bark at each other, rounds zipping all over the hallway.

The enemy operators were still dumbfounded and disoriented from the chaotic firefight that spurred the moment they encountered humans. Confused, they blindly fired back while trying to regroup and get some cover. Damon had the unfortunate luck to be caught in the crossfire, being the closest to the enemy. The staircase was the only thing that separated him from his teammates but he was also several feet away from the enemy.

 _"We're engaging hostiles on the roof,"_ Nakagawa informed calmly.

Damon approached the door and leaned left. His holographic sight was on a target's chest. Five rapid shots spewed out of the suppressed muzzle. The empty casings dropped by his feet with quiet rings against the hard floor boards. The rounds connected to the digimon's chest and throat, their blood splattering all the over the door and walls behind them.

Bullets rippled by his head, prompting him to pull back in the office and duck. His heart was beating rapidly, adrenaline surging through his veins. Sweat poured out his body yet his breathing remained calm. He was used to be in a firefight but God did he miss that feeling; the feeling in his guts and instincts that fought constantly for a fight-or-flight response. He felt alive in a deadly situation.

He breathed out and leaned back towards the door, pouring hot lead into the hallway until the mag was spent. He leaned back to safety and switched out a fresh magazine.

"Flash!" He heard Suzuki yell over his headset.

A light metallic "cling" hit the ground near him. A loud bang resonated through the hallway, followed by screams of pain as the hostiles were blinded by the flashbang. The grenade landed a bit closer to Damon than expected, causing loud bells to ring internally and painfully in his ears.

He grimaced, gritted his teeth and leaned out of the door. He raised the PDW up, eliminating a disoriented Sealsdramon with four accurate shots to their heart and one between their eyes.

"Marcus! Fall in!" Itami shouted while providing cover fire.

Barely a foot out of the office and immediately enemy rounds flew dangerously near him. On instinct he dove back in the room, his ears still hurt from the flashbang. He groggily stood back up and pulled the desk up to the door. It wasn't much but at least it was some form of cover. He switched the Honey Badger to his left shoulder. The handling was a bit awkward to him. Cautiously, he leaned to his left. He acquired his target, lined up his sights and opened fire. Multiple subsonic rounds sprung out of the suppressor with sharp, high-pitched cracks.

Two hostiles went down, the others fired back at him. He dove to the ground as a volley of bullets tore through the wood and wall.

"Fuck!" He hissed, crawling away the blocked doorway.

 _"Sledge, we're pulling out! Get your ass out of here, asap!"_ Itami ordered sternly.

"Easy for you to say..." Marcus retorted sarcastically without turning on the radio.

He got to his feet and ran for the window. He pulled it open and looked down. To his luck - not really - there were two large, rectangular garbage bins: one closed and the other fully opened just below the window. His face contorted to a look of disgust at the sight of the opened one being filled with big trash bags, piled up to a small mountain. It would certaintly break his fall and minimize further damage but he will smell like crap for the whole night.

He took out a M84 flashbang grenade and lobbed it into the hallway. The nearest hostiles scampered off as quickly as possible before the hand grenade detonated. A loud bang and the ear splintering bells rang in his ears. He sat on the window's ledge and took in a deep breath. He pushed himself off the ledge and fall straight for the opened garbage bin.

He landed in the bin with a resounding thud. Frantically, he got out of the bin, swearing under his breath as the foul smell assaulted his nostrils.

"Aw fuck! What's in those fucking bags?!"

"Marcus! Come on!" Sergeant First Class Takahiro "Lancer" Sakurai beckoned him urgently.

Damon sprinted across the courtyard and towards the back entrance. Another loud explosion rang off just behind him. The strong shockwave rippled through the air, pushing him to the ground.

"Gah! Motherfucker!" He swore angrily to mask the pain that surge in his right ankle. One of his fellow operators ran up and picked him up to his feet. He managed to spare a glance behind him.

The caravans were in flames, completed destroyed and razed to the ground. A body fell from the second floor a couple of feet away from them, three fresh gunshot wounds pierced the digimon's armour.

Everything was a chaotic blur to Damon. His ears were hurt, his lungs were dry, he smelled like shit and now his right ankle was killing him, while he must run the fuck out of the village before the enemy could gun them down.

Fortunately, it seemed that the D-Brigade Special Forces were not interested to chase the humans. The operators were able to disappear from sight and regrouped with the sniper team. That said, the whole village was abruptly awaken by the loud explosions and fierce firefights. The operators didn't stay much longer to find out what happened to the D-Brigade spec ops or the terrorists.

Right now, their mission was to meet up at an exfiltration point so that friendly birds would extract them out of hostile territory.

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, August 31st 2022, Sword Zone._

News of Coppersfield's violent raid spread around the world like wildfire. According to Facture, the raid has been conducted by D-Brigade Special Operations Forces on a suspected warehouse. The occupants supplied the terrorists with weapons and information in exchange for money. It was said that the warehouse acted like one of the main supply points for the insurgents. The SOF's mission was to search and destroy all weapons caches and terrorists. Officially, five operators died and twenty-three terrorists were killed.

The emperor Chaosdramon later informed the press that the mission was deemed a success and he was satisfied with the result. It was a huge blow to the terrorists' morale and network and he will personally see the end of this organisation in the coming months.

Most of the international community, including the CNS, applauded the Metal Empire's effort to track down and eventually eliminate the terrorist threat that has plagued the empire for months. Thankfully, there were no mentions of human soldiers intervening in the raid, but the humans remained weary.

For Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon, that meant they'll get more lead in their investigation once they'll be granted access to the raid site. Today, however, they'll be expecting the minister Susanoomon to arrive at the camp and visit ambassador Angewomon.

They were both tasked as Susanoomon's personal guards while the base's commander, Colonel Dorbickmon, assigned two hundred soldiers to provide security.

A single military Blimpmon descended towards the camp's tarmac. Once it touched the ground, a rear ramp pulled open after the security personnel inspected the aircraft. A group of Kenkimon was the first to come out of Blimpmon, each holding four military crates piled ontop of each other. As they unloaded the equipment, a platoon of Ludomon rushed out of the aircraft, their metallic feet hitting the concrete and their armour clattering resonated loudly. Finally, following the small digimon was Susanoomon, walking at a brisk pace while stretching his shoulders and taking in the fresh air.

The Ludomon dutifully marched towards the TEAR operatives and stood in front of them in a tight square formation. Their discipline was impeccable and on point. Susanoomon walked pass his small army of bodyguards and warmly greeted the operatives with a smile and a handshake.

"Welcome to camp Tolkien, sir," Saviorhackmon said politely while shaking his hand happily. "It is an honour to meet you in person,"

"The feeling's mutual, sergeant," Susanoomon replied with a grin, "I can say that the Colonel's happy with the reports you've given us,"

"Have enjoyed your flight, sir?" Gaioumon asked formally as he led the group back to camp.

"The Locomon ride was pleasant and relaxing, although in a Blimpmon, I couldn't get much sleep and my ass's feeling kinda sore," He said sincerely, earning himself a roar of laughter from Gaioumon and a surprised stare from Saviorhackmon.

"I feel your pain, sir. Blimpmons aren't quite the best when it comes to comfort," Gaioumon said with empathy.

"So, how's Wargreymon been doing?" The minister asked casually.

"He's, uh, still with his wife, sir," Saviorhackmon answered.

Susanoomon shook his head, "Of course..."

"Colonel Dorbickmon couldn't greet you for now because he's quite busy with what happened last night," Gaioumon informed him plainly, "I'm sure you've heard about it. It's all over the news now,"

"Indeed, just got a call from Tesla City, praising Facture's operation and requested that we should pull the IDDF out of the Red Line and let Chaosdramon handle the situation. Luckily, not everyone was on board," Susanoomon explained with a frustrated sigh.

"There has to be a reason why Facture would publicly announce that SOF units were deployed in that raid. It's a classic PR stunt," Saviorhackmon stated as a matter of fact.

"Putting a good light on the Metal Empire," Gaioumon concluded.

"Well PR stunt or not, we must keep the pressure on Fracture to liberate its borders and remove its forces from the Red Line," Susanoomon stated firmly. "How are the humans doing in fact?"

"They've arrived yesterday with only four hundred troops and a hundred vehicles, mostly APCs." Gaioumon reported, "That's all they could spare for now unless Chaosdramon tries to attack the Sword Zone. But in all honesty, that won't be much to scare him off, nor to maintain peace and stability. They have no tanks, no artillery support and very little air support. I'm starting to wonder if anyone is taking this situation seriously," He said bluntly.

* * *

Captain Raymond was at the motor pool with First Lieutenant Sullivan beside him. The company commander decided to conduct a general equipment inspection on the Marines and their vehicles. There were some Japanese soldiers who were already maintaining their own vehicles. He greeted them briefly as he pass by them.

"Is that all we got?" He asked incredulously at the vehicles on display for the Marines. Sullivan checked the clipboard and nodded at him. "Un-fucking-believable..." He growled.

For a forward deterrent force to the D-Brigade, their numbers were quite low. They lack any sort of support and they were only given transport trucks, APCs and LAVs. No tanks, no attack helis or artillery pieces.

"Did we receive info on any DSF deployment?" Sullivan asked curiously, "It could explain our small force,"

"Negative. DSF wasn't deployed due to fear of starting a war with the Metal Empire," Raymond explained with a disapproval shake of his head, "They're starting to act like the actual U.N. They seriously need to get their shit together," He commented dryly.

"The Japs are in the same situation as us, sir," The First Lieutenant pointed out while inspecting the Japanese's vehicle inventory. "And they are suppose to be the main force. At least they're up-to-date with IDDF requirements,"

"That's still not enough to withstand anything the D-Brigade or the terrorists could throw at us," Raymond replied with a frown, "We'll handle this problem another time. Are the Marines ready for inspection?"

Sullivan turned his gaze at the barracks and looked back at the Captain, "Affirmative, sir," He answered plainly.

Gathered outside their barracks in platoons, the Marines of Alpha Company wore their combat gear as they waited patiently for the captain's inspection to begin. Gunnery-Sergeant Porter slowly walked by the formations, observing each Marine for any equipment discrepancy. Their gear has changed significantly since the first expedition and it differed more to the regular Marine. Since Digital Marines will only be deployed in the Digital World, their requirements in terms of equipment and firearms are different from a standard Marine back in the Real World.

First off their primary weapon, the standard issue rifle to most Marines. The M16A4 rifle and M4A1 carbine were replaced with the 16.5 inches barrel variant of the HK417 A2. Both the USMC and US Army Digital Expeditionary Task Forces put a focus on accuracy, stopping power, armor penetration and automatic fire capability for urban combat. The FN SCAR-H was another prime contender among others, however the German-made rifle was more modular, lighter and cheaper. Furthermore, it had a similar design to an AR-15, it was easier for the troops to pick it up and use; it also meant less time (and money) on training them to familiarize with the new weapon platform.

Under the M417A2 designation, the rifle did have some minor modifications: shorter handguard lenght to accomodate an underbarrel grenade launcher, the front ironsight was replaced with a flip-up model placed on top of the handguard (like its shorter variant) and a bayonet lug on the muzzle with a black finish on the rifle.

In terms of ballistic vest, the Digital Marines, like the rest of the Marine Corps, have adopted the new Improved Modular Tactical Vest, though its lighter counterpart is widely used by the Marines themselves. The heavier kevlar plates usually weigh down on the user, sacrificing mobility and maneuverability while offering little protection from foreign, digimon-made, projectiles. So protection was sacrificed in exchange of mobility, an advantage human soldiers have when up against most digimon threats.

That said, the Digital Marines do have some leeway to acquiring other, lighter, ballistic vest systems like their attached Force Recon platoon. A rare sight indeed but the option was available for them nonetheless.

The Marine Corps' iconic Lightweight Helmet was replaced by the Enhanced Combat Helmet, the MICH TC-2000, TC-2001 and TC-2002. Little-by-little, the Digital Marines – and the US Army counterpart – looked like a middle ground between conventional soldier and special forces operators; which it was intentional. These soldiers did receive special training from various USSOCOM units like the "Green Berets", the 75th Ranger Regiment, the Marine Raiders or the Navy Seals. In addition, the Digital Marines did receive further training from Force Recon since there's a dedicated platoon attached to the Marine Corps' DETF.

Satisfied with the end result, Porter walked ahead and stood straightly in front of the platoons. Raymond and Sullivan were a few meters behind him.

"Company! Prepare for inspection!" He bellowed sternly.

On command, the Marines stood at attention, heels together, chin up and gaze stoic with their weapon slung to their front in port arms position while the platoon commanders and platoon sergeants stood ahead for their respective units.

"At ease!" He ordered as they were in proper formation and relaxed.

He spun around to Raymond and sharply saluted him. "Captain, all Marines are accounted for. Alpha Company is ready for general inspection." He stated firmly and loudly, his voice almost to the point of cracking. Though years of screaming at recruits allowed him to maintain his stern voice without breaking his vocal cords.

Raymond saluted back and followed the company sergeant towards the right most formation, First Platoon. Both the second lieutenant and staff sergeant of that platoon formally saluted them.

"Captain, the platoon is prepared for inspection!" Second Lieutenant Nelson Browning stated dutifully.

The captain returned the salute and with the company sergeant and executive officer in tow, began the platoon's inspection. For an entire hour, the same formal proceedure repeated methodically for each platoon. The commander conducting the inspection with the company sergeant examined each Marine with scrutinizing eyes. One discrepancy, a fold out of place, a dirt on the rifle, a rusty bayonet or a dysfunctional gear will mean certain punishment for the Marine and potentially his whole squad.

Fortunately for them, Raymond was satisfied with their level of maintenance, duty and discipline.

He walked back to his original spot in front of the company. He straightened his back and stared at Porter.

"ATTEN-SHUN!" The gunnery-sergeant bellowed sternly. A single, unified snap of boots echoed loudly through the busy camp, then silence reigned once again. "Captain, company inspection complete. Alpha company's reporting for duty, sir!"

Raymond gave a slight nod at him and gazed back at his Marines, "Company, at ease!" He ordered. They all returned to a more relaxed stance and waited for further orders. "Before I let all of you off, I'm going to brief you on the current mission. As you all know, this is a peacekeeping mission and so far, tensions are slowly diminishing despite what happened in the Metal Empire last night." He stated flatly, "In fact last night's incident is proof that we must remain vigilant from terrorist threats. This is not new to us, we've already been deployed in Afghanistan or the Middle East once in our career. Tomorrow is when we'll begin our work. I've already assigned to your respective platoon leaders your orders. You will be posted at various checkpoints along the "Red Line" with the JSDF, to assure that the Metal Empire and the Sword Zone respect their neutral status emplaced by the CNS. Protect the borders well and we'll hopefully return home with everyone alive and preventing another war. Oorah?"

"OORAH!" They shouted in unison.

"Carry on," The company commander nodded to Porter and left the barracks' courtyard. The company sergeant spun around on his heels and faced the Marines.

"Alpha Company, dismiss!"

On command, the Marines broke formation and casually walked back in their respective barracks, idle chit-chat filling the empty silence as they went on.

While on the way towards his office, he felt his personal phone vibrate suddenly against his right thigh. Intrigued, he halted beside the medical centre and fetched for his phone. He swiped his thumb across the screen to unlock it and he was honestly surprised by the call notification.

"Hello?" He began unsurely.

 _"Hey honey~"_ Came Shino's cheery reply.

He almost dropped his phone out of surprise and frantically looked around himself before facing the building's metallic wall, away from any prying and curious eyes.

"How did you manage to call me?" He asked, sounding more alarmed than actually happy to hear his girlfriend.

 _"Oh I'm sorry, am I already bothering you?"_ Shino retorted sarcastically. Now she was upset by his reaction.

He swore under his breath and tried to defuse the awkward and nerve wracking situation. "No, please, babe, don't be mad..." He begged, "It's just I wasn't expecting you to call me this soon; especially on my phone,"

 _"We were going to talk soon anyways, I thought it was fine... but it seems I was wrong..._ " He didn't know how, but somehow he could actually feel her pout through her voice, _"Now if you'll excuse, I'll leave yo-"_

"No don't!" Stephen almost shouted, causing some passing soldiers to glance at him with concern. He offered a nervous grin at them before he faced back to the wall and lowered his voice, "Shino-kun, I'm really happy, I mean it. And I miss you alot, I miss hearing your voice, your laugh... so please don't hang up on me."

The wait for her response lasted seconds that felt like agonizing hours; only to have an anti-climatic end.

 _"Okay,"_ She answered nonchalantly.

"That's it?"

 _"What do you mean 'that's it'? Were you seriously thinking that I'll gush over your apology because it was so sweet and romantic?"_

"Well, when you put it like that... you're right," He admitted sheepishly.

 _"Did you just quote a song's lyric?"_ She enquired inquisitively.

"Nooo?" He lied.

 _"My god, you sound more and more like Itami-san..."_ She sighed in disappointment, _"Anyways, how's work, hon?"_ She asked curiously, quickly changing the subject before she could cringe at that thought.

"So far so good. No war's going on, soo that's good news, right?" He said with a nervous chuckle. "How about you, sweetheart?"

 _"Eh, boring. Now that Itami isn't our platoon leader, things are less interesting. I'm going to be honest, I kinda miss the guy..."_ She admitted with genuine honesty. _"Though it still boggles me that he's with special forces now_..."

"Shino, did you call me to rant or is there something else on your mind?"

 _"Nah..."_ She paused unnaturally, _"I'm just on guard duty and I got bored, so I decided to call my boyfriend who didn't sound so thrilled at first,"_ She said accusingly.

"Babe, I swear I'm happy and I'm super, super sorry. I still love you," He reassured with a small smile.

 _"I love you too, honey. Look, I'm not going to ramble on for much longer because I know I'll be paying the bills for this one. We'll continue later on Skype, right?"_

"As promised, love," He replied.

 _"Good. Stay safe for me, will ya? You're no good for me if you're dead,"_ She stated teasingly.

"Gee, way to remind me of death, babe," He replied sarcastically.

 _"You're welcome! I love you!"_

"Love you too," Then the line went dead.

He let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head before his attention was drawn to the medical centre's front door opening. Two Japanese soldiers, both women, walked out of the building while chatting amicably. One of them seemed oddly familiar to him. Firstly, the taller woman had distinct fiery red-hair and icy blue eyes. Secondly her voice also sounded familiar, though not in a casual tone. He simply couldn't put his finger on what it was that made the woman look familiar to him.

As they walked down the small staircase and turn to his direction, the red-hair woman stopped in her tracks and stared directly at him. Her questioning and curious eyes widened a second later as if realization struck her in the head. He, on the other hand, was completely lost and didn't understand why she was now walking toward him.

"Sumimasen, ē to..." She began but soon closed her mouth, struggling to get some words out.

Raymond gazed at her face a while longer until it dawned on him all of the sudden, "Wait... Are you Renamon's partner?!" He asked in Japanese. It was rusty but the message was clear since her eyes went wide open.

"No way..."

"Nonaka Rika, right?" She nodded slowly. "Do you remember me?" He asked with a grin.

"You're the Marine that saved Guilmon... Sergeant Raymond?" She said with uncertainty, her mind rambling to get her memories clear.

"I was a Staff Sergeant, but now I'm a captain," He corrected while pointing at the coyote brown patch on his blouse that displayed his rank. He then extended his right hand, "Long time no see, miss,"

She hesitantly shook his hand, a bit overwhelmed to meet one of the soldiers that saved her and her friends. "Likewise, sir,"

"Say, when did you sign up?"

"Two years, sir,"

He whistled with admiration, impressed that she turned out to be a sergeant in just two years of service. "Well, uh, I'm glad you made it this far and I'll be happy to work with your unit at some time,"

"Thank you, sir," She bowed with a smile.

He nodded back, shuffling in place awkwardly. "So, uh, how's Renamon and Guilmon doing? And their baby of course," He asked in a friendly tone.

"They're doing fine. Renamon do have some mental problems, namely PTSD, but... she's doing much better with Guilmon and now Viximon in her life... She never smiled so brightly since, well forever..." Now that she thinks about it, Renamon rarely smiled, let alone speak freely. Back in the day, she and Renamon were almost the same, personality wise, however her partner did more effort on trying to strenghten their bond. In a way, she did feel kind of envious that Guilmon and Viximon were able to make Renamon happy and smile. A far cry from the silent Renamon; now a digimon filled with love and appreciation for life.

"Wow... okay. I'm happy they managed to pull through. They were some of the bravest Marines I had the honour to fight with." Raymond stated sincerely, "I'll leave you two on your merried way," He said to her and Yoshino and walked away, "Oh and say hi to them for me!"

"Y-yes sir!" Rika replied loudly once she was out of her deep thoughts.

Once he was out of her sight, Yoshino leaned closer to her with a mischievious grin.

"Say, sergeant, was he hitting on you or what?"

"W-what?!"

"He could be a keeper... he looks sexy and he was super cute when he blushed!" Yoshino gushed blissfully, "I envy you, sergeant,"

"Look, there is nothing going on between us and I do not, and will not, have a crush on him. He's like a decade older than me and he was just doing his job back then," Rika clarified with a frown.

"Yeah, he's like your knight in shining armour, saving you from danger and all that,"

"Again, no he didn't. His platoon found us and got us out of the mess. I didn't see much of him later during the battle. So no, nothing will happen between us," She growled, glaring at the private next to her.

"You sound disappointed. Were you hoping he'll scooped you up in his strong arms, hum?" Yoshino teased with a wink.

"Okay, one: you've read way too many doujinshi and romantic novels. Two: I'm pretty sure he already has a girlfriend and three: I don't plan on getting in a relationship anytime soon. Now will you drop it or shall we have another trip back in the hospital?"

"Fine, fine..." Yoshino agreed relunctantly, "Wait, how did you know he has a girlfriend?"

"I read a book not long ago. I think it was called _'Peace, War and Love'_ or something like that," Rika replied with a shrug. Yoshino quickly fetched out for her notepad and began to furiously scribble on it."What are you doing?" She asked concernly, more for herself than anything.

"I going to order that book when I can," The other woman replied with a cat-like smirk, "Say, does it have any sex scenes?"

Rika forcefully planted her face on her hands, "God, you're helpless..." She grumbled, disappointed at her friend and subordinate.

* * *

 _Somewhere in the Iron Forest, Metal Empire._

The silence was broken by the abrupt crash of a table that was flung across the room by a very furious Weregarurumon.

"You did WHAT?!" He shouted at the phone in his right hand.

 _"I know it upsets you but last night's raid is bad for the company's reputation,"_ Replied his main weapons and funds provider, MetalEtemon, in a carefree tone.

"Company's reputation? There are more important things to worry than reputation, you coward!"

 _"Woah, okay, let's not start name calling here and relax for a bit..."_ MetalEtemon reasoned diplomatically, _"Funds will still go to your way but expeditions will have wait for the moment. I don't want any feds on my ass anytime soon, especially from the D-Brigade,"_

"But we need those ordinances now. Postponing the attack will surely cripple our efforts and will give the Metal Empire more time to track us down,"

 _"That's what you get by pissing off the big E, but you need to understand from my point of view. If the feds caught the company dealing with the likes of you, not only will we be sanctioned and imprisonned, but you'll lose all major fundings from me,"_ The metallic ape explained, _"Remember, I'm no soldier, I'm just a businessman trying to erase the competition by making alot of profits. Do not worry, my loyal team of researchers are working very hard to perfect the packages"_

"So are we just going to lay low for the mean time?" Weregarurumon asked incredulously.

 _"For a start, yes. I don't if you've heard the news but the humans are now out there along with the CNS Security Minister,"_

"Why are you telling me this?" The terrorist leader asked skeptically, not once trusting the greedy and sketchy digimon.

 _"Well you ARE my favourite client; so I'd thought why not tipping you off in exchange for your loyal cooperation with us. Call it a helping hand,"_ MetalEtemon stated casually, grinning behind the phone.

"Time's running out and my people are suffering. You better hurry up with those ordinances if you're truly willing to help us," Weregarurumon reminded with a growl.

 _"Well if you really want my help to speed things up, I'll need some favours on your part..."_ MetalEtemon began enigmatically.

"What do you want?" Weregarurumon conceded relunctantly.

 _"Straight to the point, I like the way you think!"_ The business digimon chimed excitedly, _"I need more raw material and the Platinum Mountains is the closest we've got to provide us that boost in steady resources. In exchange of granting us access to the mines, I'll personally see to developp the nearby villages with new assests and commodities thanks to the undergound magma source that lies just beneath your feet,"_ He informed as a matter of fact, _"It's a win-win proposition for the both of us. We get our resources and you'll get your ordinances as well as direct community aid to your people,"_

Weregarurumon growled but said nothing more. A long silence pause settled as he weighed his options in his mind. The D-Brigade were getting closer, pratically breathing down his neck at this point. He gritted his teeth and decided to swallow his pride for once.

"I'll see what I can do," He answered coldly.

 _"Excellent..."_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Salut! Sorry for being absent for quite some time. Things got in the way that prevented me from enlisting in September, ironically by the Army themselves. In summary: the administration launched for the THIRD time an administrative inquiry on my profile. In other words, enlisting for September (for a regiment that I was interested in) is gone. I'll either enlist this October or some other time. More details on that over my FF profile. Anyways, in the next chapter, things will start to heat up, quite literally; so expect more covert missions, detective work and explosions! I hope you enjoy the story so far, favourite/follow or leave a review if you want and as always: _à la prochaine! :D_**


	6. A thin Red Line

Chapter 6:

A thin Red Line

 _September 5th 2022, Camp Dawnstar's main HQ, Southern Region._

Lieutenant-General Yamamoto has gathered all the high-ranking officials of the American, British and Belgian forces to the war room to brief on the developping situation at the "Red Line" and to discuss a course of action.

A lot has happened during the week. A series of sporadic events that surprised the IDDF is currently leading to escalations in the diplomatic scene, slowly pushing itself on the verge of an armed conflict.

On September 1st, a series of terrorist raids in the Platinum Mountains overtook several large mining sites from the Metal Empire. Chaosdramon responded by deploying hundreds of additional troops along the borders. D-Brigade Military Police and Special Forces launched a massive night operation, cracking down terrorist hideouts and cells while hunting down for any terrorist supporters across the border. Most were arrested on sight, but a small number had been executed on site for, according to Fracture, "resisting arrest".

On September 3rd, the crack down operations continued, more and more alleged insurgents were arrested. However it turned for the worst when civilians were incarcerated as well, supporting the enemy or not. Whole villages were emptied by the D-Brigade's ruthless tactics. Refugees tried to escape to the borders but were swiftly apprehended by the authorities or denied access by the Sword Zone Defense Forces. In retaliation, Susanoomon ordered the two states to open their borders and allow any refugees and asylum seekers in. After long hours of diplomatic arm wrestling, the Metal Empire conceded to the demands. It is no doubt that it didn't sit well with Chaosdramon. Over three hundred refugees crossed the border and taken care of by IDDF and CNS personnel.

The next day, irritated by the CNS's intervention, Chaosdramon mobilized another wave of troops, five thousand in total. The D-Brigade soon used the empty villages as Forward Operating Bases. Worried, the Sword Zone sent its own wave of troops to the "Red Line" and fortified its defenses and bunkers. The CNS and Royal Knights tried to re-establish negociations but little progress has been made, both sides were unwilling to pull out their forces. It was clear that war may come. Something must be done to prevent it and it must be done quickly.

This leads to today's meeting.

The screen displayed multiple aerial view photographs taken by drone reconnaissance missions from the previous two days. The images show multiple columns of armoured transports that stretched for kilometers long, crossing the fields towards the "Red Line". Most of the meeting's attendants were shocked by the sheer scale of force mobilized by Chaosdramon.

"This is not the additional force that our friend at the Metal Empire announced yesterday. We've been tracking this convoy for the past two days but intel from the DSF shows that this is the result of months of preparations behind the scenes while the eyes of the world focused on the "Red Line". This is not a security force, it is an invasion force..." The high-ranking officers frowned and stared at the images with more attention, dreading the day a war will break out anytime soon. "The terrorists are trying to start a war but they're now getting desperate. Our special forces units are hot on their heels and it is now a matter of time before we take them down. And that time might begin soon..."

The projector switched to another image, this time of the Iron Forest. Red markers showed what seemed to be camouflaged structures in the sea of trees.

"This is their main HQ, lying deep in the Iron Forest in ME territory. We believe, with the intel we were given from the start, that the leader is still present. We have a shot to take him out and bring the terrorists down." Yamamoto presented stoically.

"So are we going to send a kill team, then?" Assumed Colonel George West, Field Commander of the British Special Expeditionary Force.

"Yes, but doing so will declare a war with the Metal Empire, no matter our intentions." Yamamoto explained. "However..." The image then zoomed out of the forest, taking a general aerial view of the local mountainous environment. Several, irregular, yellow lines were linked between the Iron Forest and a small town in the Sword Zone, "We've just discovered an underground tunnel system that will lead us directly towards our target. Our recon units found it during a raid on a terrorist hideout located in that town."

"Sir, if I may interject for a moment, why aren't we cooperating with the Metal Empire or the Sword Zone military to conduct these operations?" Asked Colonel John Becker, commander of the US Army's Digital Expeditionary Force. The others either nodded in acknowledgment or voiced their concerns.

"While I agree with you, the DSF explicitly informed us to not trust either of them and here's the kicker. We just got new intel, we don't know from whom or when they've obtained it, but there's a possible ploy that all of this is a scheme to start a war, an excuse for the Metal Empire to conquer and expand its territories," Most of the officers were dumbfounded and confused.

"I... don't follow here. Are we missing something from the start?" Asked Colonel Jean-Paul Legein confusely, the commanding officer of the Belgian Task Forces.

Yamamoto sighed heavily for he too wasn't happy with the current position they were in, thanks to digimon politics, bureaucracy and active will to leave the humans in the dark.

"The CNS, the ones who have implored for our help, have intentionally left out some information of the situation. They thought it wouldn't come to this and started to spit out every intel they've got to us,"

"Fucking fantastic..." Lieutenant-Colonel Richards commented dryly.

"Indeed..." He agreed with a shake of his head, "A year ago, the Metal Empire illegally took over several hex zones in the Industrial Zone, basically a complex of factories and abundant resource of raw materials in just one place, a true entrepreneur's wet-dream. This is the very heart of this world's economy," He explained plainly, "The ME took these zones either through bribery or by military action, which were swiftly condemned by the CNS but the sanctions did little to stop them,"

"Fast forward to a few months back, just when the terrorist organization made its appearence, the DSF discovered a R&D site near the Industrial Zone that served two purposes: to produce ICBMs and create an army of clones,"

"Clones? You mean like in Star Wars?" West asked in disbelief.

"Basically, yes. That explains the sudden increase in manpower and we believe that Chaosdramon is intent on using them to capture more land, resources and test out his new toys. But it doesn't end there," He continued, his eyebrows furrowed, "Recent reports from their investigators shows that sleeper agents were implemented in both ME and Sword Zone authorities. Which mean any digimon could be a potential threat and surprise us with suicide bombers like the terrorists from our world."

Anger and frustration started to spread in everyone's faces. Dealing with an insurgency of this scale is a thorn for any modern, conventional military. The enemy was omnipresent without being visible, yet it somehow get the jump most of the time.

"Gentlemen, we are now facing desperate times and we need desperate measures. That is the situation we're in right now. Mission briefing for the upcoming raid will start at 2000 hours in the same room. You may all dismiss."

* * *

 _September 7th 2022, Coppersfield, Metal Empire._

The warehouse and all of its merchandise laid in crumbled ashes and debris. The whole area had been blocked off to civilians. Police road blocks has been installed on every road to prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing the crime scene.

Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon observed the ruins of the warehouse after getting through a checkpoint. The clouds were darkening above their heads, threatening to let out a heavy downpour, reducing their time to examine and analyze the evidences before they were packed up and shipped back to Fracture to be documented.

Unfortunately for them, there isn't much to analyze. Almost everything has been razed to the ground. Any important documents, computer data and security footages were problably lost in the subsequent fire caused during the raid.

"You know, Lieutenant, for Special Forces, they're kind of reckless when it came to this raid," Saviorhackmon commented bluntly, his glasses obscured his eyes while analyzing the ashen ground.

"Well the D-Brigade isn't known to be subtle either, Saviorhackmon, so it is not much of a surprise to me..." Gaioumon stated flatly, examinating the burnt down caravans and crates, "But by the Gods, they were super efficient when it comes to destroy everything," He added sourly, feeling this crime scene will lead them to nowhere.

Finding nothing in the courtyard, the two operatives moved in the destroyed warehouse, walking carefully for fear of the roof to collapse on their heads or the weakened ground to give in and swallow them in the basement. Everything was a mess. Only pieces of documents have been retrieved during their search but were far too damaged to be reliable. Might be a reason why the local police outright left these behind.

Saviorhackmon stared at the ground, providing him some evidence to recreate the scene through the high-tech glasses. The ash showed footsteps, methodic and frantic. It showed signs of struggle and fallen bodies. Dried bloodstains, broken glasses, burn marks, bullet holes and bullet casings littered on the floor. After analizing the clues, the enhanced computer in his glasses would then try to recreate in 3D the incident from start to finish. By the time he finished examinating each evidence, his whole view was filled with static holographic silhouettes, each representing an unknown individual. Status on their identities was blurred out but it didn't matter; he was trying to understand the outcome of the raid, not finding out the culprits.

However something was missing. A key piece to complete the complex puzzle that formed in his mind and visually displayed through his glasses. He noted that several individuals were killed, but not by each other. There was an unknown factor admist the clues, or rather an unknown group. He didn't know who they were or their purposes but they were the missing link to complete the mystery.

"Sergeant! Come over here!" Gaioumon called firmly.

Saviorhackmon perked up and jogged his way to the lieutenant's position. Gaioumon was walking down the staircase from the first floor until he met the dragon knight mid-way. He presented to him two empty bullet casings, mostly covered in ash but undamaged. He gingerly took one and observed it curiously.

"Found it on the second floor, among other casings," Gaioumon explained while staring at the one in his palm, "I haven't seen anything like it,"

His glasses analyzed the casing in a split second and showed him the results. It was a 7.62x35mm carbine cartridge, according to the AI. Also known by the inscription at the base as:

"Point 300 AAC Blackout..." He read out loud.

"What does _that_ mean?" The black samurai asked.

"I don't know, lieutenant," Saviorhackmon replied bluntly, "My database doesn't have any reference on any cartridges of this dimension or designation,"

"Then that confirms one thing..." The knight looked at Gaioumon with a raised eyebrow, "There was a third party here that wasn't supposed to be here," He concluded with a frown.

The two remained silent, thinking for any possible explination for this unknown factor, pinpointing a probable suspect. Then it hit them simultaneously. Their gazes met with growing realization.

"Do you think that the humans were behind this?" Saviorhackmon asked.

"I'm ninety percent sure it's them. Not the ones at the camp, maybe another SF unit that was compromised and caught in the crossfire," Gaioumon stated with certainty, "Though it leaves one question: why?"

"Can we access the second floor?" Gaioumon nodded.

Without a word, Saviorhackmon hurriedly made his way up the steps to the second floor. Gaioumon trailed behind him, walking at a slower pace due to his heavy weight pressed on the weakened floorboards. The second floor's hallway was completely covered in ash and soot. Parts of the groud had holes and led straight down to the ground floor. It was dark and the air was barely breathable.

Saviorhackmon coughed violently, his eyes watered. He whizzed and spat on the ground, wiping away a strand of saliva with his forearm. "Goddamnit..." He muttered through laboured breaths. He coughed again before he activate his glasses' "Dectetive Mode", as Gaioumon named it once.

To his right, silhouettes of digimon soldiers were huddled behind the four offices. They were bunched up, weapons raised. Some were on the ground, clutching their wounds or dying. The AI highlighted every bullet holes and bullet trajectories. It lit up as bright orange streaks, weaving in every direction. He then turned left and saw a much smaller group. They also took cover in the offices but they were slowly retreating, backing away to one office he couldn't get access to. On the ground he found more casings of the so called ".300 AAC Blackout" catridges. The unknown silhouettes looked much lighter than their digimon counterparts. They also carried relatively smaller firearms that could easily punch through digimon ballistic armour.

"Found anything, Sergeant?" Gaioumon asked behind him.

"Affirmative. Our possible humans were fighting off over there..." He informed while pointing at the left side of the hallway. "They were fewer in numbers but packed quite the punch. They somehow escaped through that office as well,"

He suddenly noticed another lone figure in the office just next to him. The figure looked human; he figured they were caught in the middle of the gunfight. He pushed away the bullet riddled desk and followed the silhouette's tracks. The footsteps led to the shattered window. He followed it and peered out. The AI estimated that the figured jumped out and landed on a garbage bin, now taken away by the authorities. He cursed under his breath, that would've provided some DNA evidence... probably.

"So one of them jumped down there?" Gaioumon assumed beside him, peering out of the window and looking down.

"Yes... and they landed in a trash bin before making their escape with the rest of the group. I could've gotten a DNA sample..."

"Would you be able to identify them?"

"I...I'm not too sure, lieutenant," Saviorhackmon admitted sincerely, "My database is only based on what we have here. But theoretically, I could access human database via a terminal since that's how our world exists. That's how _we_ exist." He continued thoughtfully, "To them, we're a complex physical form of binary codes. Every digimon is a different program. Our world is continuously growing because of the humans. They dump large amount of data per second without their own knowledge,"

"Huh, I guess that could explain some of the oddities around the world,"

"Exactly. Everything about the DigiWorld is caused by human activity on the internet..." He then paused and sheepishly gazed at Gaioumon, "I don't know much about the science behind all of that but... the main point is that, in theory, if I were to get a sample from them, I could scan their DNA and get access to the Real World's database, maybe more, who knows?" He said with a bit of excitement in his voice.

"That does sound interesting, Saviorhackmon, but going off tangent here," Gaioumon reminded him with chuckle, "The way I see it, if we can't get a sample of human DNA, we might as well just face them and demand answers."

"Should we head to the humans stationned at the camp?" The black samurai nodded, "And if they refuse our demands?"

"Then we will travel across the world to meet their higher-ups." He stated confidently.

"That's... very bold, Lieutenant. Are you sure we won't get into some messy situation?" The dragon knight asked worryingly.

"Saviorhackmon, you're a TEAR operative now, getting in trouble is part of the job," He said with a humorous grin.

* * *

 _September 8th 2022, Hillside Village, near the Platinum Mountains._

The campfire crackled in the lull silence of the night. Two digimon huddled around the comfortable warmth as cool winds reminded them that winter was coming soon this year. Idle chat filled the silence around the fire. There was a bark of laughter, jokes were exchanged.

Then the noises fell abruptly.

The two digimon dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Mouths agaped and blood leaking out of their lifeless bodies. Out of nowhere, heavily armed men came out of the darkness and revealed themselves into the fire's light. They swiftly and quietly shuffed past the two corpses. The data particles lazily drifted away to the winds, completely ignored by the faceless spectres.

Itami's team moved in on the cave's mouth. A single, weakened wooden door stood between them and their objective. All Data Squad operators were present along with another squad of Belgian operators from the Special Forces Group.

"Godfather, this is Avenger, we've reached the objective point, preparing for breaching. Over," Itami whispered into his headset.

 _"Copy that, Avenger. Group Charlie will cover your six until further notice. Over and out."_ Replied Captain Kenyuu "Godfather" Yuuki coldly.

Yuuki stayed in the shadows with the Belgian sniper teams and Assault Group Charlie, a mixed platoon of Japanese and Belgian SFGs. He directed the operation while the higher-ups observed them through live drone feeds. More than fifty elite operators are involved in this operation, codenamed "Tunnel Rats".

The platoon is divided into three task groups: Assault Group Alpha, Support Group Bravo and Assault Group Charlie. Group Alpha, led by First Lieutenant Itami, will be at the head of the raid operation. Group Bravo was tasked with providing sniper and machine gun overwatch as well as command of air assets if necessary. Group Charlie was the second wave if Alpha needed additional firepower or took heavy casualties.

Their primary objective was to capture or kill the terrorist leader, Weregarurumon X, codenamed "Ares". Secondary objectives were to search for intel and destroy any weapons cache. In the final phase, the operators will destroy any access to the cave while two stealth bombers, armed with bunker buster munitions, will drop their payloads on the terrorist's main base. Yamamoto hoped that the operation will put an end to the insurgency. It was bold and he had confidence on the men's skills but it was also dangerous. The operators must be quick, silent and clean. Any traces left behind or a failure may lead them to war with the Metal Empire, not to mention a direct firefight with a D-Brigade garrison located twenty klicks North of the Iron Forest.

Sergeant "Manny" Suzuki took point with Sergeant "Sledge" Damon in second position. True to his nickname, Suzuki always brought with him the right tools for the mission. He peered into the small opening of a window on the door, making sure it was cleared of hostiles. Carefully, he reached for the door knob, wanting to find a more silent approach then the use of a 'dynamic' hammer.

Much to everyone's surprise, the door wasn't locked at all. With a shrug he quietly opened the door. The man on the opposite side, a Belgian operator, raised his suppressed SCAR-H at a low-ready stance, leaning towards the doorframe and covering him.

Once the door was fully opened, the operators filed in two columns. The cave was dimly lit by candles drilled into the natural stones. Their footsteps sent out faint echoes, caused by the damped ground of mud and gravel. Manoeuvring through the cave with ease with their advanced NVGs, the underground hideout seemed empty at first. Then the underground passageway led them to a rusted, metal gate. At the other side was a wide cavern.

The columns halted, their silhouettes still hidden in the darkness. Floodlights scattered around the area as a source of illumination. Two long picnic tables were set at the centre of the cavern. A couple of digimon sat around, eating and drinking while playing a card game. Others read a book or took a nap. Only a few stood as guards, armed with spears or crossbows. At the very of the cavern were two branching passageways. From what they were told from the mission briefing, one tunnel led to another cave system while the other led, more-or-less straight to the underground base at the Iron Forest.

"Flashbangs." Suzuki instructed to Damon and the operator beside him. Complying to the demand, operators passed around hand grenades to the pointmen. "Marcus, hammer."

On command, Damon took Suzuki's breaching hammer and positioned himself in front of the door. Suzuki glanced at the Belgian pointman and gave him a firm nod. On cue, they both tore the pin and threw the grenades through the gate's openings.

Two metallic thuds awoke everyone's attention, searching for the noises' origin. Two loud bangs echoed in the cavern followed by surprised screams filled the natural hall. Soon, rounds started to fly, striking the armed guards first. The rusted gate violently opened. The operators swarmed in the hall, weapons spitting out hot lead with soft cracks, eliminating the disoriented digimon.

The last body fell, a pool of blood leaking out of the gunshot wounds. The operators moved in, checking the sector before they deemed it clear. Immediately after, a squad of Belgian operators were setting up explosive charges on the left most tunnel and provided rear guard while the rest continued with the mission, traversing the passageway ahead of them.

The tunnel was narrow and long with multiple smaller chambers carved on the sides. The elite soldiers painstackingly cleared each chamber. Resistance was light but in these conditions, the men had little to no cover; a simple frag grenade is enough to blast away half of them.

Unprepared, the terrorists scrambled whatever defenses they could get, sending out troops to eliminate the humans. Armed with melee weapons or crossbows, they were greatly outmatched by the better equipped and more nibble humans as they keep navigating through the underground branch. The darkness was their advantage along with their suppressed rifles. Accurate and deadly, the digimon were losing the fight.

The operators' progress was suddenly put to a halt when machine gun fire roared at them. On instinct, they dove for the ground or in one of the chambers. Merely two dozen meters away from their position, the insurgents have hastilly set up a barricade with sandbags, crates and furnitures. They placed a machine gun on top of the makeshift fortification and opened fire blindly into the dark tunnel, suppressing the humans.

They tried to fire back, killing a few hostiles but to no avail to stop the machine gun's furious barrage.

Damon propped his Honey Badger from the ground and took aim for the gunner's head. The personal defense weapon jolted into his right shoulder, silenced .300 Blackout rounds spewed out of the barrel. The bullets shot the sandbag just below the target's weapon, sand and dirt bursted out of the holes and blinded the gunner. Sergeant "Saber" Chiba used that moment to lob a frag grenade at the other side of the barricade.

"Frag out!" He yelled before hurling the hand grenade over the target's head.

A panicked scream and an resounding explosion blew into his eardrums while dirt and rocks fell on his helmet. Sergeant First Class "Lancer" Sakurai, the team's machine gunner, hefted his HK121 machine gun and opened fire. The light machine gun lit up the tunnel, the muzzle flash exploded into multiple fiery roars. In seconds, he cleared the way for the rest of the group to advance. The men quickly broke down the barricade and pursued with the mission.

All notion of stealths were gone. The men were now running against the time to capture "Ares" as soon as possible. They had an hour left before the air force will blow the base to the ground.

After breaking into another metal door, the insurgents were prepared. Rounds whizzed at them the second they stepped foot on the more organized and built chamber. The damp and muddy ground was replaced with wooden duckboards. Concrete formed the cave's walls and military-grade equipment now scattered across the large hall.

The men spread out and took cover behind steel structural beams and armoured boxes. The operators returned fire. With their element of surprise gone, the men let loose hails of hot lead into enemy positions. High explosives grenades flung at the insurgents, blowing their cover away and tearing their bodies to bloody shreds.

"Sledge! Your left!" Yelled Master Sergeant Fuse urgently.

Coming out of the shadows were lean, agile and fast digimon, rushing towards the humans with a flash. Damon could only spot a red blur before he felt an immense weight pounce at him. Hot breath blew at his face. He looked up and immediately grabbed onto Fangmon's open maw, moments away from chewing his throat off.

"Fuck!" Was the only thing he could think of as he struggled to get the vicious creature off him. The digimon suddenly went limp, falling off to the side with two sizeable holes to the head.

A blood-curling scream erupted to his right. He rolled to the side, drawing out his USP Compact sidearm and took aim at the other Fangmon pining a Belgian teammate, its maws around his left forearm. The handgun jolted in his wrist as multiple .45 ACP rounds soared out of the muzzle. The powerful pistol rounds pierced the red canine's soft tissue, destroying the flesh and shattering the ribcages. Blood splashed on the operator's uniform before he stabbed the wounded Fangmon in its neck.

"Nique ta mère!" The Belgian shouted angry after he kicked the dying digimon off him.

One of his teammates rushed at him, pulling the injured man away from the firefight while others provided suppressive fire. Damon picked up his primary weapon and returned to his position.

Soon, the fighting died down. The remaining insurgents either fled to another position further into the cave or lied dead on the ground. The operators didn't take a moment to rest. They treated their injuries and moved on, pursuing the enemy. The fight was fierce from then on. The insurgents threw everything at them but eventually the defenses fell as the operators now breached in the base.

Stepping out of the cave's tunnel and into a bland bunker, the humans, much to their surprise, found the place relatively empty. The ceiling trembled as faint explosions and gunfire erupted above their heads. Intrigued, the men ignored the unfamiliar noises and resumed with the mission, drawing closer towards their target's location.

"Contact!" Suzuki shouted as they rounded a corner to the left.

A single flew at him, scrapping the side of his bump helmet. The bullet's kinetic energy was strong enough to throw him to the floor.

"Manny!" Damon stepped over the man and fired at the lone digimon.

The armed insect-like digimon fell instantly after the bullets connected to their chest. Greenish blood gushed out and spilled over the dark grey walls and floor of the bunker. Damon took point while Master Sergeant "Doc" Park lifted Suzuki back to his feet.

The operators moved in a single file. The tight space prevented them to fully secured their surrounding. It didn't calm their nerves knowing that a battle was going-on just above them. The thought of the ceiling collapsing and bury them here didn't escape their minds. The dread mixed with the adrenaline pushed them to move faster through the many narrow corridors.

"Target location spotted," Damon announced.

Ahead of him was a large metal door with a green sign above it that read _"General Headquarters"_. The operators piled up on the sides of the door. Corporal Hiroshi "Specialist" Ishihara instinctively set up the breaching charges around the doorframe. Once the preparations were done, he bumped his helmet thrice, signalling everyone to brace for the explosion.

Facing him was Itami, his SCAR-H steady and firm in his grasps. The officer gave him a solemn nod. Ishihara returned the gesture and pressed the detonator. It clicked but nothing happened. The demolitions specialist looked at the device with disbelief. He pressed again. Click. Click. Nothing. Aggravated, he frantically slammed his hand against the button.

All of the sudden, a loud explosion erupted, startling most of them. The metal door flew in the room with a loud crash. Without stopping, they rushed in the HQ, weapons raised and ready to engage. Itami felt that the world around him ran in slow motion, each second that counted down felt like hours.

The initial dust cleared away, he spotted four silhouettes. He lifted his battle rifle's holographic sight to eye level, index grasping around the trigger. He lined up the sight to the left most target in the room, the small red dot at the centre of the sight's picture landed on their chest. His first target was a humanoid digimon, half human, half goat. Then their gazes met. He could see the fear and shock in the digimon's eyes. It didn't help him that they looked like a young, teenage boy; a boy that wasn't suppose to be here. But his body acted first.

His finger pulled the trigger. The rifle kicked once into his shoulder. A bright flash exploded out of the muzzle, a single round shot out. In the blink of an eye, the bullet hit the digimon's torso. They fell instantly, their face contorted to that of sheer fired two more shots into the digimon before he switched to another target. Two targets fell, his men rushed in the room. All of their weapons were trained on the last one, running away from them. Slowly, time resumed to its normal pace as he could identify the unmistakable shape of a modified, bipedal wolf. Ares spotted.

He was gunning for the rear door, his only escape route. Itami quickly aimed for the legs and fired. Time resumed its course. The rounds hit the concrete steps below his feet, missing their target. The metal door flung open and Weregarurumon X made his escape.

"Target's escaping!" First Lieutenant Kazuyuki "Mozart" Kirimoto yelled.

"Sledge! Manny! On me!" Itami ordered sternly as he chased after the HVT while the rest of the task force secured the room.

Damon and Suzuki ran after their squad leader. Weregarurumon sprinted down the corridor, his pursuers were hot on his heels. He tried to shake them off in the maze-like corridors but to no avail.

The bunker trembled again, this time with more force. Damon hit his shoulder on the hard wall, trying to turn around a corner as fast as he can. He was now at the head of the small fireteam. He grunted and pushed his feet forward. He knew that a Weregarurumon could be fast, but one infected with the X-Antibody was a pain in the ass to chase. There were several attempts to shoot at the target's feet, but he dodged them expertly.

Another flight of stairs led them further up towards surface level. The corridors were much larger from there. The rest of Data Squad and the Belgian squad followed their footsteps, keeping visual contact while they try to catch up to them.

Weregarurumon suddenly ducked and rounds flew at him. Damon, in the moment of trying to halt himself and dive for cover, slipped on his feet and fell on his back. Quickly, he rose his rifle and returned fire. Bits of concrete showered on him, prompting him to close his eyes.

"Contact!" Suzuki shouted, firing back behind him.

They heard a body hit the wall. Itami helped Damon up while Suzuki took point, the HVT was out of sight. Dust fell on their helmets as the bunker trembled violently, the sounds of a fierce battle grew louder. Taking the right corridor, the three-man fireteam found itself at the bunker's hangar, behind the insurgents while D-Brigade spec ops stormed in. They quickly took cover behind a formation of steel barriers before volleys of hot lead zipped overhead.

Damon and Suzuki returned fire trying to stall the enemy from closing in on them. Itami on the other hand is trying to contact the rest of his unit.

 _"We-*static*- down by hos-*static*- ed help!"_ Came Fuse's blurry answer.

"Fuck!" Itami cursed in frustration.

"What now, boss?" Damon asked concernly, "HVT's running away and we're clearly outnumbered. We need to switch to plan B!"

More rounds bounced off the steel barriers, high-pitched pings forced the men to keep their heads low. They were now cut from their unit, pinned by enemy forces, caught in a crossfire and the HVT was slipping through their grasp.

"New plan, we eliminate the target, then call in the air strike." Itami instructed, now determined to accomplish the mission.

Damon simply nodded and focused back on the fight. He took a frag grenade out from his plate carrier's many pouches. He pulled the pin, counted down to three and threw at the enemy. Suzuki grabbed hold of his M320 grenade launcher and unloaded a series of 40mm H.E grenades.

Despite having grenades to clear a path for them, the operators were quickly pinned back behind their cover, with the insurgents now approaching their location. The flying rounds were chaotic and claustrophobic, even for Damon. It angered him that he couldn't do much to change the situation. They now only had one option: retreat. He glanced to Itami and saw as well that he too was resigned to a retreat. Suzuki, on his part, kept fighting.

"God damnit... we're pulling back. We'll regroup with the rest, call in the air strike and get the fuck out of here. Clear?"

"Clear!" The two sergeants replied flatly.

"You go first, LT!" Suzuki proposed.

Itami nodded and gazed at the corridor behind them. He had at least twenty meters to cross in the open. He took in a deep breath and gave a tap on Damon's helmet.

"Covering fire!" The sergeant said sternly.

The officer sprung out of cover while his two teammates fought the enemy. He felt hot air flying by his face as rounds barely missed him. Each passing bullet sounded like an angry bee, determined to sting him. Pieces of concrete shot out beneath his feet. He ducked his head and slid the last meter or so to the corridor. He spun around and provided cover fire for the next operator.

"Set!" He yelled at them.

"Bounding!" Damon shouted back, standing and running towards Itami's location.

Projectiles whizzed and cracked around him, each one was a brushing with Death's cold grip. Somehow, they missed every shot. _"They must be the bad guys then..."_ He thought with a small smirk. Like Itami, he slid his way into the corridor.

"Last man!" He shouted while firing at the nearest targets.

Suzuki was in mid-reload when he tried to run out of cover. Rounds flew dangerously close to him, forcing him back behind cover. He hesitated a second time but stayed behind cover when a round sparked against the barrier.

"Cover me! I'm using smoke!" He yelled at them before taking a smoke grenade.

"Shit! Las mag!" Damon warned after locking the magazine into the PDW.

The Honey Badger spat out angrily, the rounds penetrated the insurgents' light armour and thick skin with ease. His accuracy was on point, focusing at a target's centre mass to inflict more fatal wounds at a big area. Each kick the weapon made sent out a burst of hot lead. Warm empty casings were piling up beneath him. The weapon clicked empty, the mag's dry.

He cursed under his breath and drew out his sidearm. The smaller handgun was enough to down soft tissue targets but he didn't have sufficient firepower and ammo to tackle a whole wave of hostiles.

A thick white cloud of smoke swarmed Suzuki's position. The operator threw his last frag out to the enemy and sprinted out of the smoke.

"Bounding!" He shouted frantically.

Itami switched his dry battle rifle for his secondary weapon and opened fire. They were running out of ammunation and he still doesn't have any status of his unit nor of the current mission. The insurgents thankfully focused their fire on the smoke cloud, hoping to hit the last man before he could escape. Unbeknownst to them, all three operators were gone.

Suzuki leaned his weight on Damon, limping lightly as they made their way to regroup. During his run, a stray bullet managed to lodge itself into his left ankle. He nearly fell face first to the ground were it not for Damon's timely rescue. The squad leader led the way while Damon and Suzuki followed behind, each armed with a pistol. Damon would occasionally glance behind them, making sure they weren't pursued by the terrorists.

Just as they were about to round a corner, Itami was pinned against the wall, the cold barrel of a handgun pushed beneath his chin. Everyone stopped but for a second before a roar of a laughter broke the tense silence.

"Jesus Christ, Itami, I almost blew your brains off!" Fuse said with a sheepish grin, "My bad, sir,"

"Y-you're forgiven..." Itami responded shakily, his face drained of colour after his life nearly flashed before his eyes, "W-we need to get the fuck out of here now!" He continued with renewed seriousness, "I've called in the air strike. ETA's twenty minutes."

Without a question, all operators, healthy and wounded, made a 180 and ran for the exit. The bunker was mostly devoid of life, a few catatonic and fleeing stragglers here and there were in their way. Along the way, Damon did note a lot of data particles lazily drifting in the air, along with numerous bullet holes, burn marks and bloodstains on the walls and ground.

They finally regrouped with the rear guard, as well as meeting up with Group Charlie, who were sent to support them. Itami briefed them about the situation and convinced them to resume with exfiltration and assume the mission was a failure. Once out of the cave's mouth, the damp and narrow tunnels was replaced by the spacious and cool winds of the foresty mountain side. They could still faintly hear the battle raging from the other side of the mountain. The two Assault Groups eventually regrouped with Group Bravo and made their way towards the primary exfiltration site.

The transport helicopters arrived with a smooth landing. Everyone got on board the dark green and tan birds. The massive CH-53K Super Stallions lifted off the ground once everyone was accounted for and the area was clear for take-off. And they were flown away from the AO, the operators awaited for the air strikes to come, to bury the insurgents with devastating bombardments; D-Brigade casualties will be marked as _collateral damage_. But nothing came. No screeching engines. No loud and spectacular explosions. The fireworks must've been delayed, they assumed.

They later found out by Yamamoto that the air strikes had been called off. It was disappointing to say the least.

* * *

 _September 9th 2022, Camp Tolkien, Sword Zone._

Alphamon stood before the door. He took in a deep breath, his eyes narrowed firmly. His right hand curled into a fist. He breathed out and knocked on the door.

"Enter," Came the formal reply.

He pushed the doorknob down and swung it open. He stepped into the spartan office and his gaze fell on the minister Susanoomon. The tall, armour clad digimon stood behind his desk, arms folded behind his back while staring out at the pouring rain through the window on the left. He turned his head to the door, his emerald eyes met Alphamon's crimson orbs.

"Ah, Sir Alphamon, please come in and take a seat," Susanoomon said with a friendly voice.

Alphamon complied, feeling no tension or menace between them. He sat down on the comfortable cushioned seat. Susanoomon fully faced him but remained beside the window. His calm eyes stared at the floorboards, deep in thought.

"I imagine you want me to cut to the chase and go straight to the point, am I correct?"

"That... that would be preferable for the both of us," Alphamon answered reasonably,"I'm sure you're as busy as I am with the current situation in the region,"

"Indeed," Susanoomon admitted with a nod, "Last night's event have certaintly put on a strain on our efforts to ease the tensions here," He drew out a long sigh. "Anyways, that is not the matter of this discussion; it is about us,"

"Us?" Alphamon asked confusely.

"The relations between the Order and the CNS, to be more exact," Susanoomon clarified, "You see, ever since this whole mess started, there's has been multiple miscommunications and mistrust between us. We hold off crucial intel from each other, furthermore complicating our mission, with a common objective might I add."

"I see..."

"I personally do not know the reasoning behind this misplaced distrust, from your Order and from within the CNS itself. But if we continue to act like this, we will fail to bring peace in this region and war might break out." He continued calmly, "I'm asking your full cooperation, Alphamon. I want full transpency on our intel and actions. You are a very important ally to us; you and your knights are invaluable in our mission to bring peace and stability around the world. I know our ways differ from yours but we really need your help, Alphamon." He pleaded.

"I... I suppose that we may have lost our ways with our differences. I guess that our judgment have been clouded with our own agendas without thinking about the consequenses," Alphamon stated thoughtfully. "I offer, on the the behalf of the Order, my sincerest apology and we will do our best to offer our full cooperation."

"You're not the only one to be sorry for... but I am relieved to hear that you're willing to work with us. I assure you, Alphamon, I will make sure that the CNS will aid you with any means necessary," Susanoomon promised diplomatically, reaching his hand to Alphamon.

Alphamon grasped his hand and shook it firmly. Letting out a tired sigh, Susanoomon relaxed on his seat. "I have to admit, this whole ordeal is a chaotic mess..."

"Indeed, it has been a painful headache for all of us," The Royal Knight commented lightly.

"Tell me about it... anyways, do you perhaps want some refreshments? I can call my aide," The minister offered. Alphamon was about to formally decline until they heard knocks on the door. "Come in?"

The door swung open. Greeting them was ambassador Angewomon, her wings fully healed and her backpack slung on one shoulder. Behind her was Lieutenant-Colonel Wargreymon, his duffle bag on his back as he waited patiently for his wife in the hallway.

"Minister, Sir Alphamon..." She greeted them, "Sir, I'll be taking my leave, but if you need me, don't hesitate to call. Good luck out there," She said with a smile.

"And to you as well. Have a nice trip back home and stay safe," He instructed in a fatherly tone.

"Will do," She responded with a mock salute and closed the door, leaving the building with her eager husband in tow.

"So... about refreshments?"

"Although that doesn't sound bad, I must decline your offer due to work. But I won't mind another time, minister," Alphamon answered respectfully.

Susanoomon nodded and led the knight to the door, opening it for him, "In that case, I hope you would take your time to some rest,"

Alphamon gazed at him with questioning eyes. As if reading in his mind, he chuckled and said: "I can see it in your eyes, Alphamon, you're not getting enough rest. I ill-advise you to overwork yourself,"

The black paladin shook his head and waved a hand in defeat, "Aye, aye, I'll try to get some-"

Rapid metallic footsteps interrupted him from behind. He and Susanoomon turned to face a group of soldiers running for the staircase at the other end of the hall. They all brushed past the two Mega-levels without hesitation. Alphamon's wrist communication device blared to life, Examon's voice was filled with urgency.

 _"Alphamon! This is Examon! Checkpoint Tau's under attack!"_

* * *

 _Checkpoint Tau, Sword Zone border._

The noises around him were blurred and muffled, all mixed up and indistinguishable. A throbbing headache came through the hot pain he felt all over his body. Breathing was difficult with his whole body going awry. Slowly, his eyes opened, so were his senses. His vision was still distorted but the noises became clearer and sharper. Enough for him to hear a shouting voice.

"Mikey! Mikey!"

All of the sudden, his senses were back. His body was back in his control and he could register more pain surging through him. He felt warm liquid leaking out of the side of his head, mixed with cool droplets of salty water. He was lying on his right on the humid asphalt. The first thing that came to his field of view was a blazing hot wreckage of a caravan. The inferno was tall and bright, captivating his groggy eyes. Then he shifted his gaze towards his discarded rifle, on the ground just a few inches away from his tired arms.

"Kudo! Get over here! Come on!" He heard his sergeant yell over the sound of bullets cracking and zipping.

With a grunt, Lance Corporal Mikey "Taiki" Kudo reached out for his weapon. He withdrew a sharp breath, feeling immense pain across his ribcages. His right hand grasped the rifle's buttstock and he pulled it to him.

"Goddamnit! Cover fire!"

Machine gun and rifle fire roared in unison. Hands suddenly grabbed his plate carrier and started to drag him across the road, away from the wreckage.

"Come on, man! Pull it together!" Corporal Kevin Howell hissed as he dragged him towards the guardpost.

Another pair of hands took hold of Mikey's plate carrier and together pulled him away from the firefight with much force and speed. They set him against the Hesco Barriers. Sergeant Quinn Osburne took off Mikey's helped and leaned an inch forward, inspecting the cut just above his left eyebrow. He replaced the helmet back and strapped it. He gave a light tap on top of it.

"You're good to go, Marine!"

Mikey regained his senses and firmly held his rifle. He could see Marines and JSDF soldiers manned behind the barriers and guardposts with the local security personnel while their convoy of armoured vehicles closed in to provide heavy fire support. Gunpowder and smoke hit strong in his nose making his eyes water a bit. He stood back up and checked his weapon. It was still in fine conditions, baring a few scratches here and there. He racked the charging handle, chambering a round and took a firing position behind the Hescos.

He didn't need to be told who to shoot or where to fire. He knew well what was happening. They were ambushed by the insurgents. They've rigged one of the refugees' caravans, blew up much of the checkpoint's first line of defense, rushed out of the other caravans and were now in the process of overrunning the D-Brigade's checkpoint. A couple of Sword Zone personnel were undercover terrorists, preemtively striking the humans from behind to cause more confusion and chaos. They have been eliminated but at a cost of civilian deaths and soldiers killed or gravely wounded.

Across the 75-meter gap of a _no man's land,_ the D-Brigade garrison was in scrambles. Admist the confusion, the D-Brigade guards have mistakenly opened fire on the American and Japanese soldiers. The insurgents took advantage of the chaos to waltz right in their defenses and take out the first line, now using their own weapons against them and the humans from the other side.

The remaining refugees fled to the Sword Zone checkpoint, bypassing all military personnel, who were now more occupied with the defenses than regulating the border migration.

"Target confirmed, Bulldog 2-1. Pour it on 'em!" Second Lieutenant Nelson Browning ordered sternly over his radio. His was partially covered in soot and dried bloodstains. Most of his right sleeve was burned off and he had a bloodied bandage wrapped around his upper arm.

Althought wounded, his hand gripped firmly around his Glock 19 sidearm, like the true tough Marine he was known for in the company. The heavy thumps of the LAV-25A2's M242 Chaingun spat out a burst of 25mm rounds into the hostile guardpost. The hard-hitting rounds ripped through the thin metallic frame of the tower, killing anyone inside there. The top of the tower exploded, sending two battered digimon to the ground.

"Incomong hostiles on the road! Sixty meters!" Someone yelled.

Mikey shifted his aim towards the road. The abandonned caravans, most were shredded by bullets and sharpnels, were used as cover for a small group of insurgents, bounding towards their position. He took aim at an Orgremon, their left flank exposed. He breathed in and slowly released the air. In mid action, he squeezed the trigger. The M417A2 kicked in his shoulder, the muzzle jumped as a three-round burst soared out.

All three rounds connected to Orgremon's ribcages. They staggered backwards after a geyser of blood spilled all over the caravan's cloth cover. They fell and screamed in agony. The rest of the insurgents were quickly mowed down. The corpses slowly disappeared, leaving behind a trail of data particles and fresh pools of blood.

The human soldiers tried their best to draw the insurgents out of the D-Brigade checkpoint and into no man's land. Despite their efforts, the garrisoned D-Brigade company didn't respond. The terrorists were taking control of the checkpoint and if they don't draw them out soon, they'll get their hands on superior, military-grade firepower.

"C-HQ, this is Alpha 1-0. Delta-Bravo is not responding. What are your orders?" Browning asked in frustration.

 _"Hold position, 1-0. Friendlies are trying to contact the nearest Delta-Bravo garrison. Reinforcements are on the way."_ The company commander replied stoically.

"Copy that, we'll hold on until then," He shut the line between him and the Company Headquarters.

"Orders, sir?" The platoon sergeant, Staff Sergeant Nathan Beckers, demanded patiently.

"We stay here and await for reinforcements," The officer replied with a frown, "Staff Sergeant, I want you to order the M-ATVs to spread along the Hescos, cover a wide angle of fire." He instructed, "If we can't get there, then we make sure they don't get out of there."

"On it, Lieutenant!" Beckers nodded and ran to the convoy to relay his orders.

"Lance Corporal Kudo!" Mikey turned around to face his platoon leader, "You're my interpreter. On me!"

Mikey pushed himself off the ground and jogged behind the lieutenant. He hunched over, one hand over his helmet, the other grasping his rifle as they crossed the road, dodging the hail of bullets. At the other side of the road were two squads of Japanese soldiers. Unlike the Marines, the Japanese convoy consisted of two Komatsu LAVs, armed with 12.7mm heavy machine guns, two Toyota HMVs and one Bushmaster PMV, armed with a 40mm AGM launcher.

The two Marines joined a fireteam of Japanese troopers behind the Hescos. All five Japs eyed them with surprise, not expecting Americans in their line.

"Who's in command?" Mikey translated Browning's words.

"Gunsō!" One of the soldiers, a woman, called out behind them.

Another woman ran to the Marines. Bloodstains and dirt tainted her uniform. The few red strands of hair that peeked under her helmet were glued to her sweaty and grimey face. Despite her red cheeks and laboured breathing, she held herself confidently and tall.

"Anata no sābisu de Nonaka gunsō." She greeted them with a curt nod.

"Tell her to spread the LAVs and MRAP along the Hescos, do not let the enemy in our perimeter."

Mikey nodded in response and relayed the order to Sergeant Nonaka in fluent Japanese. She gave him a sly smile and gave a thumbs up."Hai!" She then transmitted the Marine's order to the rest of the unit.

"Job well done, son," Browning said with a grin, "Come on, let's regroup with our platoon."

Once again, the two ran across the road, making sure to move fast while making themselves as small of a target as possible. With the cover fire of the LAV-25, 12.7mm HMGs and M240 MMGs, it was easy to see that the humans were gaining the upperhand in this firefight.

That said, it was far from over, the insurgents now in control the checkpoint and they could change the tide of battle. It is only a matter of time.


	7. Fuel the Fire

Chapter 7:

Fuel the Fire

 _Checkpoint Tau, Sword Zone Border, two hours ago._

The clouds were greying, faint grumbles could be heard from the distance. Yet the line of refugees crossing the 75-meter, two lane road, went on at a modest pace. It was easy to tell that there were over a hundred of digimon trying to leave the Metal Empire after the D-Brigade's violent crackdown operation.

US Marines posted at the watchtower stoically scanned the horizon, machine guns nestled over the sandbags. Several more Marines and Japanese soldiers stood guard along the road in the checkpoint with soldiers of the Sword Zone Land Component. A LAV-25 behind the Americans gave an intimidating sight for the newly arrived migrants.

Sergeant Rika Nonaka glanced upward, frowning at the dark grey clouds that rolled towards them. Behind her was the Komatsu LAV, the fifty caliber HMG manned by Private Yanaka. The Japanese LAV was less intimidating and packed less of a punch than its American counterpart. It was more of reconnaissance vehicle than an IFV. That said, the HMG was enough to eliminate most digimon threats.

The rest of her squad was spread about along the road, occupying one side of the checkpoint while the Marines were posted at the opposite side. Second squad was posted along the Hesco Barriers, watching the road and the D-Brigade checkpoint across the _no man's land_. Master Sergeant Kazuyuki Okitsu, the platoon sergeant, was in command while Lieutenant Hongo and the other half of the platoon were at a small outpost about an hour drive away, stationned at the top of a hill that overwatched the checkpoint.

Okitsu stood near the checkpoint's border post with the radio specialist and Second Squad's squad leader, Sergeant Yamato Iwasaki.

Meanwhile, the Sword Zone garrison of the checkpoint inspected every civilian. They demanded an ID or an Asylum Seeker paper then they would scan their belongings, and in some cases, their caravans.

The caravans took the most time for the border checks since the owners would pack up all of their belongings to start a new life in the Sword Zone. But they also present a potential threat for the humans: Improvised Explosive Devices. The British and Americans have spread awareness to JSDF personnel about the dangers of IEDs, car bombs and suicide bombers.

IEDs were the bane of most modern armies, notably the Americans and British. These past events showed that the threat was real and similar to the insurgents they have fought. With a possible threat that deadly in the middle of a huge, slow moving crowd, Rika prayed things will go smoothly.

"Good thing we only need to care for one lane," Commented Leading Private Ryo Akiyama as he walked up next to her. "Hey, sergeant, how long are we suppose to stay here?"

"Six more hours to go, Akiyama," She replied with a sigh, "Six more hours to go..."

"Hmm..." He glanced up and shook his head, "It's going to rain soon..."

She felt soft droplets hitting the top of her helmet. "Why did you jinx us?" She muttered irritably.

"Why am I to blame here?"

She didn't retort, instead she kept her mouth shut and focused on her task. The silence prompted Ryo to walk to the LAV to grab a bottle of water. He returned to his position beside her and casually watched the civilians. He would occasionally wave back to the younger digimon, greeting the human soldiers with bright eyes. Apparently, some digimon historians romanticized the First Human Intervention, sometimes exaggerating the actions and exploits of the human soldiers. It was enough to boost the popurality of the IDDF in the Digital World.

The rain poured on the soldiers on duty, the lucky few were those posted at the towers or at the border post. Rika huffed out from her nostrils, her uniform getting wet while her ballistic vest slowly weigh down on her. She pulled out a pair of black ballistic glasses and wore them, wanting to shield her irritation from the rest of the world.

Boredom was a soldier's worst enemy, and she knew that very well. She took a glance at her wristwatch, hoping time would pass faster than it felt. _"Four hours to go..."_ She thought sourly.

She looked to her left where the line of refugees seemed to diminish. There were about five dozen civilians to go through, with about twelve caravans. She sighed with relief, this meant that their job might end sooner than expected. She kept her eyes on the line of refugees.

A long caravan was ordered to a halt. The owner complied. One of the border troopers, a black Knightchessmon demanded the lone digimon to step off. They complied, calmly following the guard's demands. Two other troopers inspected the caravan, making sure there weren't any threats on board.

Rika couldn't hear the conversation but Knightchessmon didn't seem too satisfied with the information the cloaked civilian provided. Their voice became more stern, demanding something from the refugee. The latter took a step back, hands up to calm the guard. This caught the attention of Master Sergeant Okitsu and Sergeant Iwasaki.

One border trooper noticed something underneath the caravan. They yelled and drew out their sword. This prompted the others to pull out their weapons. The Marines near the border post tensed up and rose their rifles, pointing instantly at the caravan.

Dread filled her guts as her body reacted faster than her mind. Her battle rifle was at a low ready, muzzle generally pointed at the suspicious caravan. The civilians at the back of the line began to panic yet stayed in place, too afraid to make any sudden moves. The guards at the Metal Empire checkpoint took notice of the commotion and set up more soldiers along the concrete defenses.

Sergeant Iwasaki walked towards Knightchessmon and the cloaked digimon, trying to defuse the situation. Out of nowhere, the lone digimon drew out a short dagger at Knightchessmon, threatening them and Iwasaki. The Marines barked orders, some civilians shrieked in fright. Panic and dread set in the checkpoint.

"Drop the weapon now!" A Marine shouted angrily.

"Drop it!"

"I say drop it!" Iwasaki yelled sternly, mere meters away from the suspected digimon.

"Uh, sergeant...do we know those guys?" Ryo asked uncertaintly as he looked behind him.

She turned around to see a squad of Centarumon with a Sagittarimon squad leader, halting the remaining refugees in a tight cluster. They stood across the road, blocking their path. Confusion started to spread as even some Marines noticed the anomaly behind them. The unidentified troopers stared coldly at the panicking crowd.

"What the hell...?" She whispered confusely. However her guts tied into several knots, the alarm bells in her mind gave all the signals of an incoming danger. Her eyes snapped wide open once the Centarumon began to raise their arm cannons at the crowd. "OH F-"

All of the sudden, a loud explosion boomed at the Metal Empire checkpoint, drawing everyone's attention. Then another explosion erupted violently at the border post. A wave of heat washed over her briefly. Rika felt a strong shockwave passing through her, vibrating into her bones and insides. Her body was shoved to the asphalt. Aching pain covered her whole body, a trail of warm liquid trinkled out of her left nostril.

As the deafening bells faded, one clear word flashed through her hears. "CONTACT!"

She groggily got to her knees. Various loud noises were mixed into a jumble of disorienting sounds. Her soldier instinct kicked in, she wasn't fully in control of her mind, she just acted. She picked up her Type 21A1 rifle and got up her feet, running to the closest LAV for cover.

Private Yanaka hid behind the turret's ballistic shields as rounds flew in every direction. Rika looked in horror as the refugees were being slaughtered by the fireteam of border troopers. She froze into place, unable to process the massacre that unfolded before her very eyes.

"SERGEANT!" Ryo's scream managed to pull her senses together and she gazed behind to see him taking cover at the front of the vehicle, weapon drawn at the Centarumon but not firing, "They're shooting at us!"

She glared and pointed her rifle at one of the traitorous troopers, "Then shoot back!" She ordered sternly.

Yanaka swiveled the 12.7mm machine gun turret to the troopers and opened fire. The heavy and loud roars of the formidable M2 Browning was soon drowned out by the combined firepower of rifle and machine gun fire.

"Behind us! Hostiles to our six!" She shouted as she poured hot lead into the enemy troopers.

The surviving refugees ducked and lied on the ground helplessly while the gravely wounded and dying cried for help and mercy. Rika crab-walked to Ryo's position and reloaded her rifle. Anger and adrenaline were surging through her system. The rifle snapped in place once the magazine was in. She stood up and engaged the rear threats. The remaining Centarumon and Sagittarimon tried to pull back but were quickly cut off by a MRAP from behind, mowing them with 12.7mm rounds.

Though outnumbered and outgunned, they were able to inflict serious casualties to the humans before they were killed to the last digimon. The humans did not have time to recover from the surprise attack. More rounds flew at them from the Metal Empire checkpoint. The D-Brigade guards opened fire at them and into the field, killing indiscriminately the frightened and fleeing refugees while insurgents, numbering in the dozens, rushed out of the caravans to attack them.

The firefight was all the more confusing, chaotic and sporadic. This was a planned ambush orchestrated by the insurgents and everyone fell right into it.

Rika and the rest of her squad manned their posts at the Hescos, returning fire as per the established ROE. PFC Satomi Akesaka, the platoon medic attached with her squad, ran to the road with two other soldiers to recover the Master Sergeant's and the radio specialist's bodies. The former was unconscious and has sustained several cuts and third degree burns while the latter was injured to the forehead but was completely catatonic and shaking like a leaf. In other words, he was a goner as well.

Sergeant Iwasaki didn't make it, the medic found his charred and brutally mangled corpse but didn't bother to recover it, instead took out his damaged dog-tags.

The Bushmaster PMV advanced slowly to provide the JSDF squads some fire support. The Automatic Grenade Launcher turret showered the enemy positions with 40mm high explosive rounds. The exposed insurgents were torn to pieces by the devastating gun turret in combination with heavy machine gun and small arms fire. The LAV-25's chaingun was effective at picking off strong targets or hidden behind cover.

Unfortunately, the D-Brigade soldiers at the checkpoint were too focused on them to pay any attention at the approaching insurgents, quickly losing their first line of defense and gave away more useful weapons.

"Yanaka! Tower on the left, four hostiles! Waste 'em!" Rika ordered sternly.

"Hai!"

The M2HB machine gun spewed out long bursts of 12.7mm rounds at the insurgents trying to take over the watch tower. They were quickly mowed down, dismembered and peppered by the heavy rounds. Clouds of blood exploded and rained on the tower's metallic stairway. The corpses slumped sluggishly down the steps or off the rails.

"I'm out!" Yelled Private Hiroki Yasumoto, manning the squad's Type 62 machine gun.

"Trigger discipline, Hiroki! Trigger discipline!" Rika scolded him sternly, "Pick a target, Call it out and fire in short bursts! Don't waste your fucking ammo!"

"Y-yes, sergeant!" The assistant gunner responded nervously.

Private Daiki Hamano quickly jogged up the steps of the second watch tower, his DMR in one hand and a bag of 7.62mm ammunation boxes on the other. Following him was Leading Private Junichi Kanemaru and a machine gun team from Second squad. Kanemaru kicked the door in and the others swiftly set up their positions. Most of the tower's windows were shattered but thankfully, the sandbag wall was able to protect the tower's frame from being covered of bullet holes.

Hamano adjusted the HK417's long range scope before spotting his first target. Kanemaru would use his M320 grenade launcher to flush the enemy out of cover so that the machine gun team and the marksman could easily pick them off.

The humans were finally recovering from the surprise attack and were now swinging back at the insurgents with every available firepower they've got. They now had the upper hand in the engagement, but the battle was far from over as the insurgents breached deeper into the Metal Empire checkpoint, acquiring better weapons from the deceased defenders.

* * *

"That's it, Marines, take the fight to them! Do not let them get the upper hand!" Ordered Lieutenant Browning as he pass by his Marines, motivating them.

Mikey slapped the upper receiver of his rifle and stood back up to fire. His adrenaline was at an all times high but he kept his mind cool under the hectic combat. Rifles and machine guns barked loudly, but the LAV-25's chaingun was the loudest. He could feel each powerful thump vibrate in him. It was a satisfying sight to see these rounds blow shit up. The insurgents were no match against their superior firepower, and they made sure to keep it as that.

A Marine beside him, manning a M240B machine gun, fell to the ground with a surprised cry. Mikey immediately knelt beside him, searching for a wound. Blood severely leaked out on the side of his neck. The gunshot wound was large, as if hit by a .45 ACP. He instantly pressed his gloved hands onto the wound, making sure to block the bleeding without suffocating the man.

"Corpsman! Corpsman!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, looking for Corpsman Joseph Miles. "Hang in there, bud, we're getting you out of here," He reassured the man, "MEDIC!"

He shouted again and again, trying to be louder than the barrage of rifles and machine guns. Much to his luck, a JSDF combat medic ran across the road and slid next to the wounded man. While he was putting pressure on the wound, she did a quick check-up than examined the wound. She shook her head grimly; that was a bad sign to him.

"We need to get him to surgery, fast," She informed him.

"How the hell are we going to get that?!" He asked incredulously. "We're in the middle of a firefight!"

She rolled out a field dressing before she responded: "Tell your lieutenant to get medevac ASAP."

"You can't be serious,"

She gave him a stern glare, "If you don't, he will die right here."

He swore under his breath and looked around for his platoon leader. Luckily, he wasn't far away. He jogged up to the officer, whom was still on the radio with command and getting increasingly frustrated.

"Lieutenant! We have a man down!" He told him loud enough to catch his attention. Browning simply looked at him, prompting him to continue, "It's Private Romero, gunshot wound to the neck. He needs surgery fast!"

"C-HQ, we need medevac and an operating table ready for a casualty. Neck gunshot wound." The lieutenant requested coldly.

 _"We have a bird ready for a medevac, ETA ten minutes."_

"Copy. We'll be popping red smoke for LZ." He handed the cable phone back to the specialist. "Bird's coming in ten minutes, get a red smoke on that field over there." He instructed while pointing at the designated landing site.

Lance Corporal Kudo nodded and jogged back to the barriers, looking for his teammates. "Bobbie! Andrew! On me!" He ordered Private First Class Robert 'Bobbie' Stevenson and Private Andrew Ryan.

Both Marines didn't protest, catching up to him. He led them to the closest M-ATV, running at the rear doors. He opened them and urged the two others to grab a foldable stretcher. They unfolded the stretcher and followed Mikey back to the wounded Marine.

As they gently placed him on the stretcher, Mikey briefed the combat medic about the situation.

"I have four wounded to extract," She told him urgently.

"Alright, we'll fetch them as well!" He assured her. "Bobbie, you cover us."

He and Andrew lifted the stretcher off the ground, huffing and grunting by the considerable weight while bullets and bolts flew above their heads. They jogged across the road, the combat medic keeping an eye on the wounded's vitals while PFC. Stevenson fired single, stray shots at the enemy's general direction. They jogged behind the Japanese IFV and into the small grass field a little ways away from the vehicle. They gently set the stretcher down and Mikey pulled out a smoke grenade. He lobbed it a few dozen meters or so away and knelt down.

The combat medic, on her part, ran to her squad and nominated some soldiers to help her get the casualties. All three Marines dove for the ground as soon as rounds zipped just above their heads. The incoming bullets hit the dirt just a few feet away from their spot.

"Christ! We're exposed here!" Andrew said frantically.

Mikey looked around for any solid cover. He spotted one of the cruisers parked by the road, with no driver. He scanned the barriers for any available personnel but found none that could be at earshot distance from him. He took out his last smoke grenade and pulled the pin. A thick plume of white smoke puffed out, rapidly covering the landing site. He lobbed it a few feet away from him and let the smoke build up in size. It wasn't much for a solid cover, but at least they would be visually shielded by enemy machine guns and snipers.

The faint sound of rotorblades cutting through the air sent a wave of relief through him. He looked up to the grey sky just in time to spot three Black Hawks closing in on their position. Two of the black birds stayed in the air, circling around the checkpoint while spitting out rapid volleys of hot lead into the enemy line. The iconic _'brrr'_ of the miniguns was enough to boost the morale of the troops on the ground. A wave of relieved cheers echoed along the checkpoint.

Mikey couldn't help himself from smiling widely. It wasn't as impressive as an A-10 gun-run but it was still awesome and satisfying to hear those guns shredding the enemy. The last helicopter was making its descent on the marked LZ, the painted Red Cross on the side doors showed that it was HH-60M Black Hawk.

With close air support, the platoon's corpsman was able to transfer the wounded to the LZ, bringing the total of wounded to nine so far.

The Japanese combat medic arrived with her patients in time for the medical bird to land. A single air crewman hopped off the helicopter. The crew chief had an MP7 slung around his shoulder. The airman's face was completely hidden by the large pilot helmet and facemask that had a wide, skeletal grin drawn on it. Mikey even noticed a small patch on the top of the helmet. Upon closer inspection, it read: " **LIKE A BOSS** ".

Mikey reached the crew chief half-way, his body hunched over and left hand over his eyes to shield himself from the strong winds generated by the rotorblades.

"We have nine wounded. Four Japs, five Marines including one in a critical state with a gunshot wound to the neck." Mikey reported loudly.

The crew chief nodded and walked up to the casualty drop point. He glanced at them then asked for a medic. Corpsman Harry "Bones" Fowler stepped up to give the crew chief the proper medical report. After a short talk, the crew chief nodded again and gave a thumbs up.

"Alright, we'll take these four," He pointed at the four more critically wounded, "I'll get the other bird to exfil the others."

Mikey relayed the information to the JSDF combat medic. The men transported the marked wounded to the helicopter. The two other birds in the air kept a continuous flow of suppressive fire, pouring high volume of fire to the enemy.

The Marines and JSDF soldiers ran back to the casualty drop point as the medical helicopter lifted off the ground and rose to the air, away from the flying bullets that tried to take it down. One of the helicopters slowly made its descent. That's when the insurgents concentrated all their fire at. Several rounds hit the side-door gunner, rendering its right side defenseless. A crack and a splash of blood jumped at the cockpit's windshield.

 _"Co-pilot's hit. Super 6-2, I'm pulling out, LZ's too hot."_

The damaged Black Hawk swirved away from the incoming bullets, not able to take a greater risk.

All of the sudden, a barrage of high-powered shells of energy struck the hostile checkpoint violently. A series of explosions rippled across the checkpoint, blowing apart the defenses and buildings. Powerful high explosive rounds rained on the insurgent position, pounding the enemy to the ground with bright, fiery explosions.

"Reinforcements are here!" A Marine shouted with relief.

Mikey looked to the sky and once again they were saved by the Heavens. A squad of aerial digimon, led by the Royal Knight Examon, continued with their bombardment while another squad led by another Royal Knight, Rhodoknightmon, closed in on the friendly but damaged checkpoint.

The humans have finally found a moment of respite. The rush of adrenaline in their veins dissipated, exhaustion finding its way in them. They all sat on the ground or leaned against whatever support they could get and relax, taking a smoke break or napping on the ground.

Rika stared blankly at the now half-destroyed checkpoint located at the other side of the field. Plumes of black smoke rose from the crumbled buildings and piles of debris. It was a relaxing sight, knowing that the threat was neutralized and not a single round have been fired since then.

She breathed deepy, calmly her nerves, made evident by her trembling left hand. She glared at her hand and closed it to a tight fist, hoping to crush whatever tremor was left in it. She felt a flash of anger boiling up suddenly until she felt another, familiar presence next to her.

"Oh my God..." Private Yoshino Nanjo gasped,"What happened to them?!" She asked in shock as a small convoy of APCs and MRAPs arrived.

Rika turned around to witness the men disembarking from the badly damaged vehicles. The soldiers were not in better shape. They were all covered in sweat, bloodstains and dirt, as if they went through a prolonged and brutal battle. Most of the vehicles had bullet holes spread on their armoured chassis, windshields were cracked or completely destroyed with splashes of dried blood.

The newly arrived soldiers were all exhausted. Her squad and Second squad approached their fellow soldiers, offering them some drinks and food while trying to acquire any information to what just happened on the hill. Some soldiers fell to their knees and sobbed quietly, after receiving the news of a friend that was killed during the battle.

She didn't join them. She decided to stay behind, wanting a moment to herself, to compose and take in the event that has transpired just minutes ago. She double-over and spat out the bile that was building up in her throat.

"Sergeant!" She perked up to Leading Private Kanemaru, "LT wants to see you, he's by the MRAP." He informed her calmly.

She nodded and lightly jogged her way towards the battle-scarred Bushmaster PMV. Lieutenant Hongo was discussing with the Marine platoon leader, probably getting a debrief of the engagement. Her platoon leader glanced at her direction. Beads of sweat mixed with dirt covered his tired face, yet he was able to flash her a small, pained yet relieved smile.

She stood straightly in front of the two officers and saluted Hongo sharply. She held her formal stance as the Marine exchanged a few words before returning to his radio specialist. Lieutenant Hongo fully faced her and saluted back, though in a more relaxed manner.

"I presume you were in charge during the attack,"

"Yes, sir."

He hummed, staring at her blankly, lost in his own thoughts, "How's... What's the casualty report so far?"

"Four wounded and one KIA. Sergeant Iwasaki." She answered grimly, "We managed to hold them off however... we have failed to protect the refugees. We... we didn't act fast enough to respond to the threats and – and dozens were killed..."

"You are not to blame to what happened here," Hongo said firmly. He planted a hand on her shoulder and stared at her with determined but proud eyes, "There was no way that you, that _we_ could've known about it. The insurgents were smart, they've planned this ahead. That's kind of the point of a surprise attack."

She didn't see it that way. Her eyes faltered and she stared shamefully at the ground. The man opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. Instead, he sighed and gave her a light squeeze on her shoulder.

"Whatever you are thinking, it ain't your fault. In fact, I'm grateful that you were able to take command in the heat of battle." She rose her head and gazed at him with raised eyebrows,"You did a great job out there. You kept unit cohesion and more importantly, you kept them alive. And that is simply more than what I have hoped."

He let go of her and looked behind to notice the pink and tall knight known as Rhodoknightmon approaching them.

"We've made the rounds and so far, the area is secured. We've also done a quick reconnaissance in the air and a D-Brigade detachment is on its way to clear up their checkpoint," He informed the two officers in English, "You guys were lucky that the D-Brigade garrison were able to identify the threat properly,"

"What do you mean by that?" Browning asked.

"This wasn't the only insurgent attack. There were a total of six attacks across the border. Unfortunately, there has been reports of Sword Zone Defense Forces and D-Brigade clashing for several minutes," He explained, "Thankfully, a ceasefire was issued by the CNS but let's hope it stayed as that,"

"Jesus Christ," Lieutenant Browning grumbled, "You mean we were _this_ close to start a war?" He asked showing his thumb and index almost closing a gap for emphasis.

"What about the infiltrators?" Hongo enquired.

Rhodoknightmon looked a him, his face hidden by his helmet. He slightly tilted his head to the side to show his confusion.

"Infiltrators?" His tone was almost similar to that of a child's, not understanding a complex term or notion.

"Yes sir. The ones who attacked us first," Browning added with a frown, "They were also responsible for slaughtering civilians,"

Rhodoknightmon seemed surprised by that information, remaining silent to process it."I... We did not receive any report of infiltrators. At least not to my knowledge,"

"I didn't see how many they were but those fuckers did kill two of my men," Browning said with anger in his voice. "Did you see them coming?" He asked Sergeant Nonaka.

Rika looked between him, Hongo and Rhodoknightmon, a bit surprised to be put on the spotlight suddenly. She pretty much muffled the conversation and went in a blank trance with her thoughts. She coughed lightly and gazed at the digimon knight.

"We were trying to defuse an argument between the border troopers and a caravan owner, whom was a suicide bomber, when a group of about eight digimon arrived and blocked the road. There were all Centarumon led by one Sagittarimon..." She paused for a bit, the images and screams of the massacre still fresh in her mind, "We... we didn't know who they were or why they were here. When they started to raise their weapons, that was when the first explosion went off. After that, we were too late to respond. We engaged them and have successfully neutralized them before we engaged the insurgents." She finished stoically.

"Basically the same thing happened to us but in larger numbers," Hongo reported, "We barely made it out alive,"

"I'll see what I can do with my superiors. We'll probably be conducting an investigation on every Defense Force personnel in the region." Rhodoknightmon assured them. "I suggest that you stay on alert until we can give the 'all-clear' signal. There could be a second wave of insurgents after all."

"Right..." Browning complied reluctantly.

The Royal Knight nodded at them before reporting back to his task force, making a few calls with his teammates and superior on the way.

"See you later, I guess," The Marine said, leaving Hongo and Rika to organize the defenses, again.

"I'm promoting you to Sergeant First Class," Hongo stated after a moment of silence, surprising Rika, "I'm leaving you in charge of Second Squad temporarily until I find a remplacement," He looked at her and gave her a proud smile, "You think you're up for the task?"

She snapped to attention and saluted him, "Thank you, sir! I won't let you down, sir."

"Of course you won't, Nonaka. I expect nothing less of you," He saluted back and gave her a light pat on the shoulder, "Now tell them to get some rest, they've earned it."

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, Marine/JSDF HQ._

Staff personnel in the small office of the Situation Control Center worked around the clock to get helicopters in the air to evacuate the dead and wounded after the surprised attacks at the border. The intel on the field was still unclear since the Sword Zone Defense Force fell on deaf ears when trying to acquire any useful and clear information on the situation.

It took a Royal Knight messenger to finally give them the 'all-clear' signal and a briefing on the situation.

Captain Raymond was on the phone with the Brass back in Camp Dawnstar to put a halt of the air QRF deployment. The higher-ups were convinced that the Metal Empire was launching a full scale invasion, starting with the destabilization of the border. They were about to launch a massive air assault operation in ME territory in retaliation.

"Yes sir. Will do, sir." He said with a roll of his eyes, "I'll see to it as soon as possible. Good day, sir." He hung the phone and sat ungracefully on the foldable chair, his hands rubbed his strained eyes after staring at the screens for prolonged periods.

The door behind opened abruptly,"Captain, there are two CNS inspectors wanting to speak with you." A staff member announced.

He groaned in reply and turned around, "Can they wait for five minutes, we're kinda busy here," He retorted a bit too harshly.

"No, sir." The Marine replied with a shake of his head.

Sullivan glanced at him and nodded towards the door. Raymond grunted in defeat and stood up, "Fine, where are they?" He asked while exiting the room.

"At your office, Captain," The junior NCO replied.

Raymond turned around a corner and headed for the staircase to the third floor. He quickly marched up the steps and reached the desired floor. He made a beeline for his office which was conviently right next to his personal quarter. He briskly opened the door and sharply halted in his tracks.

Greeting him were two large, armoured digimon. One was a black samurai, the other was a fully-armoured knight with dragon-like features.

"Ah, Captain Raymond, we're sincerely sorry for interrupting you, my name's-"

"Gaioumon and you must be Saviorhackmon, I know," Raymond cut in curtly. He closed the door behind him and made his way behind his desk," What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

"We want to ask you a couple of questions regarding human operations here in the Sword Zone," Gaioumon continued calmly.

"Well we just got here about a week ago. Started to work about four days ago and now we just got attacked by insurgents. So if there's something else you want to talk about, I suggest you go straight to the point and stop beating around the bush,"

The two digimon looked at each other, speechless by the man's rather informal response but carried on nonetheless, accepting his wishes. Saviorhackmon pulled out a plastic bag containing four empty bullet casings and placed it on the desk to let Raymond to observe the contents. They could see his eyes going perplexed as he stared at the casings' details.

"Umm... these are specialized cartridges for AR-15s - the standard issued firearms we used during the first two expeditions. These can be quite deadly for low-level or humanoid threats but we use 7.62mm rounds now, they're much larger," He informed them casually, "Though I do not know how they ended up here, they're not issued to us or to the Japs,"

"Then who use these types of cartridges?" Gaioumon asked inquisitively.

"If I have to guess, only special forces used these with specialized weapons for stealth ops... I think. However all SF units in the expeditionary force are still in camp Dawnstar,"

"So you have no information regarding any SF activities?" Saviorhackmon asked.

"I'm just a Marine officer. I'm just part of the conventional military. All SF stuff is with the higher-ups at Dawnstar... Though I don't know if you could get access since you guys are just civilian contractors..." He paused and gave them a smug grin,"That would be the case but I can tell you guys aren't civilians or "inspectors". So what are you? Special forces? Secret service?"

"Who we are is not important," Gaioumon responded firmly.

"Actually it is," Raymond shot back, his voice became stern with authority, "If there are any SF units currently on deployment, then it is my duty, and that of any personnel of the IDDF, to protect their identities and whereabouts no matter what," He explained neutrally, "So spill it or get the fuck out of my office,"

The black samurai gazed at Saviorhackmon, who nodded relunctantly. "We're TEAR operatives. DSF's special forces,"

"Very well, you have earned my trust," Raymond said, satisfied, "Now then, I'll let you wait here for a minute while I call my superiors and hope that I won't get sacked,"

"Thank you, capt-" Gaioumon began only to be cut off a second time by the Marine.

"Don't thank me yet. What you're asking for is a matter of internal security. You might be outright refused and I may lose my job..." He made his way for the door, stopped and turned around, "And I like the Marine Corps. You make lose my job, I'll personally crack your skulls in with an entrenching tool," He stated omnimously.

With that, he left them in his office. The two operatives quietly sat down and waited. Saviorhackmon looked around at the sparsely decorated room, his gloved fingers drumming against his armoured knee. He hummed a tune to pass the time.

Gaioumon folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes, meditating... or possibly napping, it's quite hard to say.

"He seems like a nice fellow," Saviorhackmon commented, trying to start a conversation.

"Hmm," Was Gaioumon's response.

The young dragon knight awkwardly gazed around, his fingers still drumming on his right knee.

Minutes later, Raymond came back, his face expressionless. The two operatives stood up almost immediately, anxious for a hopeful answer.

"The higher-ups have given you permission to speak with the operators themselves. You'll have a bird escort in twenty minutes that will take to their base of operations. Apparently they are part of a more secretive unit, so even I shouldn't know about their existence," He opened the door for them, stepping outside and waved an arm out, "Consider yourselves lucky to meet them,"

The digimon walked through the door without forgetting to sincerely thank the Marine. He just waved them off and shrugged humbly. Deep down, Saviorhackmon was excited to finally have some lead in the investigation and to meet some of Humanity's secret soldiers. Since the First Human Intervention, he had read stories of the humans' new brand of soldiers; the elites of their armies, trained for only the toughest and most dangerous operations. They were unanimously called "operators". They were deployed behind enemy lines and in the shadows, sometimes away from the main force.

Although he had met many great and honourable warriors in his line of service, humans were always a special interest to him. They were physically weak creatures, they can be easily killed by any digimon, even a Rookie. However their weakness was compensated by their ingenuity, adaptability and sheer will to live. They were soft and weak targets but they can unleash hell and defeat any digimon if underestimated. That what happened to the Imperium after all.

Waiting at the camp's tarmac, the two stood around in one of the hangars, idly gazing at the military engineers and maintenance crews working on the artillery pieces and mechanized, aerial digimon.

A couple of black and grey helicopters flew just over the airfield and heading for the human camp's landing zone. The metallic birds varied in shape and sizes, the black birds were sleek and slim in design while the grey ones were much larger and bulkier.

One of the grey helicopters made its slow descent on the tarmac. The rotorblades picked up wind and caused a torrent of air around itself as it touched the ground. A single masked human jogged out from the rear ramp and headed for them.

The large, black goggles glanced at the two. He slowed down his pace and gave a small wave at them. Gaioumon waved back. The man's helmet had a pink moustache drawn on the bottom mask. The helicopter's long rotorblades slowed down to a halt, twirling lightly in the air for several seconds.

"Are you Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon?" The human's words echoed through the mask. It was a female human.

"Yes," Gaioumon replied plainly.

She nodded and pulled out a small, handheld device. She pointed the device briefly at the two operatives, scanning them then peeked at the screen.

"Okay, follow me," She beckoned with a wave, guiding them towards the helicopter.

They all boarded the passenger compartment and took a seat among the stacked boxes of the helicopter. The woman returned to her post at the rear ramp, relaying the info to the pilots. She sat down right behind the ramp and manned the stationary medium machine gun. The helicopter shook lightly as the rotorblades spun to life once again. They wheezed and swirled, increasing the pace by each second. Finally, the behemoth of a helicopter lurched up and hovered upwards. Its nose swirved to a direction and pivoted forward, flying towards its next destination.

* * *

 _Combat Outpost Rome, Sword Zone._

A whirlwind of pebbles, dirt and sand rose up just as their supply helicopter landed about a kilometer away from their outpost. Two tan Jackals reconnaissance vehicles – a Coyote TSV and a Jackal 2 – raced towards the landing site, kicking up trails of dust behind them.

Their passengers and drivers were heavily armed and masked men. Their thick goggles and shemaghs protected their faces from the dust and occasional flying pebbles.

About thirty meters away from the landing site, the vehicles stopped abruptly. Some of the operators jumped out to secure their perimeter while the few others were manning the machine gun turrets.

Their leader gave them a thumbs up and the men jogged towards the heavy-lift cargo helicopter. A crewmember walked out and guided them to the CH-53K King Stallion. The whines of the rotorblades began to die down, slightly surprising the team leader.

The operators peered into the passenger compartment, spotting their supply crates, as well as two armoured digimon. The leader gasped and pulled down his shemagh.

"So you must be the inspectors, huh?" Itami said, unimpressed.

The camp was primitive compared to _Tolkien_ or _Dawnstar_ but it had the essentials for these men. It was wide enough to allow four two-story buildings, a motorpool that could hold up six armoured reconnaissance vehicles and a storage shack with a water pump and power generator next to it. The outpost was protected with the standard Hesco Barrier and sandbags build with a watchtower on each corner. The outpost's HQ had a cluster of satellite dishes and radio antennae protuding on the rooftop.

The men were unloading their supplies crates from the vehicles while Lieutenant Itami led the two guests towards the HQ building. The officer then led them to an office on the first floor. There, another man waited for them. To the digimon, he looked much older than Itami, his greying short cut hair and deep wrinkles on his forehead were common signs of old age, and they were right. However the man also held an air of authority and stern determination, proven by his body shape and dark brown eyes. This was a man with years of combat experience that demands nothing but respect and loyalty. He was much shorter than Itami and the digimon but they could sense dread down their spines. It felt like meeting a high-ranking official.

"Sir, these are Lieutenant Gaioumon and Sergeant Saviorhackmon, TEAR operatives from the DSF," Itami announced flatly.

The older man nodded and stared at the two digimon, "I'm Captain Yuuki, field commander of this unit," He greeted stoically, "Any questions you have about the unit will be answered by me and only me. As per instructed by my superiors, I'm allowed to refuse to answer a question if I deemed it a threat to our security, our identities and future operations. Is that clear?"

The digimon agreed solemnly. They took a seat each and shortly after, Saviorhackmon placed the evidence bag on the desk.

"What was the nature of the mission at the warehouse?" He asked bluntly.

"I've sent four fireteams to the warehouse because we have spotted suspicious activity that could've help the insurgency by supplying weapons, food and water. They were sent to investigate the warehouse, acquire any intel, destroy any weapon cache and detain the terrorists." Yuuki explained calmly, holding his cold gaze at the digimon.

"Was the mission a success?" He asked with interest.

"We've managed to acquire the intelligence we needed, but that was when a platoon of D-Brigade stormtroopers breached the warehouse through the front entrance and roof. My men did what they can to minimize unnecessary casualties and were forced to retreat hastilly. We've accomplished our mission's objective but that surprise raid could've cost us brave lives. We were simply lucky,"

"What about the intelligence? Did they provide any useful data?" Gaioumon pressed.

Yuuki's eyes stared at Gaioumon's for a moment before he looked back to Saviorhackmon,"The intel did gave us some information about the insurgent's underground network, which led us to the night operation by the D-Brigade..."

The questions piled up, and each time Yuuki was cooperative enough to give them some insight of their unit, missions and intelligence they've gathered since their deployment. It helped the operatives with their investigation but not what they've estimated. These men were simply caught in the crossfire between the insurgents and the D-Brigade, and when they were about to end the stalemate, the D-Brigade besieged the Iron Forest and indirectly led to their failed assassination attempt. The insurgents were fewer in numbers, disorganized and scattered but their leader was still alive and if they regrouped, it gave them more flexibility to operate in numerous locations at once. Ironically, the operators were trying to prevent that and the D-Brigade, in Itami's honest words, fucked it up.

Due to Yuuki's, and consequently the IDDF's will to cooperate, Gaioumon decided to present the captain with their investigations: their leads, their evidence and their unit's mission. He sensed that Yuuki and his men had something in common with TEAR operatives: they were both elite soldiers ordered to prevent a war. Gaioumon wanted more eyes and ears on the ground and so needed Yuuki's trust and help.

Much to his relief, the man accepted to cooperate without hesitation. He figured they would further help the IDDF's intelligence with actual proper and correct intel without the D-Brigade surprising them in mid-op for a third time.

* * *

The cool wind breezed at her soft face, gently blowing strands of hair pass her ears. Rika took in a deep breath of the Digital World's naturally fresh and clean air. She wore her standard issued parka so she wouldn't freeze to death. Besides, the night sky was clear tonight. The small bright dots in the sky aren't stars but flashes of human activity accessing the internet. Some would flash briefly or faintly, others would stay and shine brightly. Depending of the world's "planetary" rotation with Earth, the digital sky would display the activity from various places on Earth. Tonight's seemed to be coming from either North America or parts of East Asia.

She glanced at her wrist watch and compared the timezones. To her luck, it was East Asia. This meant that among the clusters of shiny dots, somewhere out there, her friends or family are using their computer or phone. The thought of home made her smile sadly.

She sat down on the barrack's front porch, her eyes still mesmerized by the starry sky. Today's event kept replaying in her mind. The loud and terrifying sounds of gunshots and soaring bullets, the feel of the rifle kicking in her shoulder, the heavy smell of blood and gunpowder, the taste of salty sweat... the horrified screams of the civilians... those stuck much longer. That was her first taste of combat and those details will stay with her forever.

A cold shiver crept up her spine, she trembled with a grimace. It wasn't the wind, it was the screams. She knew warfare would be ugly, she mentally prepared herself. She had been through the Battle of Tokyo after all, she had seen men getting torn apart by these creatures known as digimon, she saw mangled corpses scattered on the streets during the evacuation attempt.

But somehow, this was different. Back then, she saw and heard soldiers fighting, screaming in agony when wounded, she witnessed those soldiers fight... but she wasn't part of them, she wasn't sent to the frontline, she didn't see civilians getting killed. Now, she is a soldier, a sworn defender of her country, her home. As a soldier, Rika knew she'll be deployed in combat zones and that she'll be thrusted in fierce firefights. But she did not prepare for civilian casualties, she wished that it won't happen.

A shaky breath shot out of her mouth. Her conflicted mind was brought back to reality and she peered at the noise that interrupted her trance. It was Ryo of all people. She inwardly rolled her eyes and gazed away. He had been relatively _close_ to her, and she had her suspicions behind his reasoning. Though tonight, she decided to play dumb and innocent just for her mental sake.

"Thought I'll find you here," Ryo said, flashing his signature smile, the one she dubbed "the poster smile". "Do you mind if I sit next to you... sergeant?"

"Sure," She replied casually, "And you can call me by name, Ryo, this stays between us,"

"Thanks," He said gratefully and sat next to her.

He brought his hands up his mouth and blew hot air into it. He then stroked his upper arms to generate some body heat. She gazed at him curiously.

"Is it really that cold for you?"

"Uh?" He turned to her, "Oh, not really. It's just that I forgot to shut the window this morning. So me and Masaru-san are freezing our balls in there..." He chuckled, "Well me actually," He admitted sheepishly, "That bastard brought an extra blanket before we came here. It looked super comfortable and cozy with those double layers..." He grumbled bitterly.

Rika giggled lightly, smiling at the image of the veteran sleeping blissfully while tucked in like a baby.

"What about you?" Ryo asked through shivering breaths, "You don't seem bothered by the cold,"

"I couldn't sleep," She shrugged nonchalantly. Ryo continued to stare at her, expecting a continuation but didn't press instead. She was glad he didn't.

The whole camp was relatively quiet. A couple of soldiers walked around, either heading for the outhouses or returning to their barracks. Other noises came from the guards of the garrison, making their night patrol rounds. During their time in the JSDF, Ryo and Rika spent almost every evening outside their barracks to chat for a bit, but he later adopted Rika's silence, respecting her privacy while being with her as company. It was certaintly a big change for him since he's more used to talk amicably with a crowd but silence with Rika was also soothing and calming.

Even then, Ryo's habit broke the silence once words came out his mouth.

"How are you doing?" The question was simple but it completely threw her off. It was just out of nowhere and sudden. She gave him a questioning look, not quite understanding him. "Y'know... with what happened that afternoon, some of the guys are still shaken up by it," He clarified, "Fuck... even I'm having a hard time sleeping. Aren't you... I dunno... shocked by it?" He looked so confused and slightly shaken.

"We've made contact with a contigent of insurgents and won the firefight," She stated flatly, her face was expressionless.

"I know that... but I simply can't sleep, Rika... I... I'm actually scared," He admitted honestly, surprising her.

She sighed and shook her head. It was a normal reaction after all. Men are scared to die, even if they're trained to fight and that they've accepted such fate. However being prepared isn't enough to ready yourself and face Death in the eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.

"It's normal to fear Death. No one wants to die, so do I," She reassured him with a friendly grin.

"It's not that, Rika... I'm scared of myself..." He released another shaky breath and planted his face in his hands, "During that firefight, I felt something strong and innate in me. Like an instinct, a drive but it was more like a desire..." He pulled his face out of his hands and stared straight into her eyes, "I liked it, Rika... I actually enjoyed that. I was thrilled when we were getting shot at. I smiled each time I killed someone... And... And right now, I can't sleep because I can't wait for another... Am I normal?"

Rika was speechless. One, she did not expect him to open up some much about himself, yet she felt honoured and grateful that he trusted her so much that he was willing to tell his secrets to her. Two, she was stunned by the man's mental state. Either he was already going insane or he was psychopath to begin with. She couldn't think of suitable words that can comfort him.

He laughed grimly and gazed at the sky, "Is this what Cyberdramon felt every day, always wanting to fight others? If so, I've got one fucked up friend,"

"Maybe it is normal," Rika finally said, causing the man to look back at her, "Some people cope and react differently under extreme events. Maybe for you, being in a firefight was a way to escape from other problems of reality. And it make senses in your case. After what you've been through during your sudden "disappearance"..." Ryo gave a pained grimace at that mention, "You were caught in an uncomfortable situation that was out of your control. But in a firefight, despite the sporadic explosions and bullets flying, you're in control of yourself. Your fate was in your hands at that moment, moreover, you had people whom you can count on and whom were counting on you. Normally, I would say you were fucking insane and a psychopath..."

"Gee, thanks..." Ryo said sarcastically.

"BUT," She continued, "under this circumstance, and after knowning what you've been through, I'd say it's pretty normal for you. That's my opinion but you can also ask Masaru-san, he's the vet afterall,"

Ryo looked down at his feet, "I guess so, when you put it like that," A weak smile grew on his face.

"Hey, at least it's not a sexual fetish... right?" He bursted into laughter at Rika's statement.

"Oh God NO! Nothing like that!" He replied through his uncontrollable laughter, "Shit, Rika, I almost died of laughing!"

Rika giggled as well and playfully jabbed at his arm,"I'm glad my humour can bring you back,"

"You call that humour? You should get a lesson or two from Takato then," He replied jokingly, returning to his usual upbeat self.

"Well, I actually learned that from him. He told me that a misplaced humour can easily break the ice. So I should thank him later for that," She said with a proud grin.

"I guess he was right,"

They exchanged a few laughs before Ryo decided to call it a night and walked back inside to get some well earned shut eyes. Rika remained outside, enjoying the cool air and starry sky to leave so soon. It were moments like these that made her appreciate life and nature as a whole. It was simply beautiful. The world she was in was cruel and corrupted. She stood on a powder keg, waiting for it to blow up and start a conflict. Then the calm of the night made her forget about that reality and reminded her of home. It was almost perfect. She was just missing the last piece of the puzzle, or rather missing someone.

That night reminded her of all the nights she spent outside her home's courtyard, staring at the night sky with Renamon by her side. Those were her precious memories that she cherished every day and every night once she entered dreamland.

A small, sad smile crept on her lips. They were only dreams now.

* * *

Alphamon has gathered his knights for an emergency meeting. All four Royal Knights looked up at their leader with curious eyes, still clueless to the meeting's subject. The Aloof Hermit took in a deep breath, he did not like to be the bearer of bad news.

"I've gathered you all here because we're about to face our toughest challenge yet. Today's attacks has certaintly put a strain in our diplomatic effort, we may even see a war by tomorrow," He stated stoically, "Thankfully, Security Minister Susanoomon is stalling it from ever happening but we need to act fast and smart. We're on limited time before another conflict breaks out right at our feet. The Metal Empire has mobilized a total of 360 000 troops during the past months. That force is ready to bring hell if war is declared."

"That is why I've ordered Omegamon to send reinforcement as soon as possible. Ulforceveedramon and Craniamon will be leading a battalion size strike force. Expect them to arrive between two and four days."

"Then what should we do?" Dukemon asked.

"We continue with our diplomatic mission. Susanoomon is trying to get another peace conference with the respectable representatives of both states. Hopefully he'll get an answer soon enough," He paused and gazed at Duftmon, "You'll be coming with me as well..." The tactician simply reply with an annoyed eye-roll. Alphamon nodded back with satisfaction.

"That leaves with Dukemon in charge of all QRFs." He continued, "Finally, I want to bring in a rather disturbing report from Rhodoknightmon, if you would please explain to the rest."

"Huh, right... would love to have a heads-up beforehand," The pink knight said lowly to his superior. He cleared his throat, "When Examon and I arrived at Checkpoint Tau, Marines and JSDF on the ground told me that there were infiltrators among the Defense Force ranks. A Marine officer claimed that they have started to open up on the refugees, killing dozens before firing at the humans behind their backs,"

"Great, another problem..." Examon shook his head.

"That means there's a number of terrorist sympathisers among the ranks. We can't trust anyone at this point," Duftmon said with a deep frown, "And investigating the whole base will not only take too much time and resource but it could prompt the infiltrators to act hastilly and attack sporadically,"

"And that's a risk we can't afford, especially when we're outnumbered," Dukemon pointed out, "Imagine the chaos and friendly fire it could cause,"

"Our best bet is to keep a low profile." Alphamon instructed, "Keep doing your work but keep an eye open for any suspicious activity or behaviour. I've contacted Karatenmon to send spies around the base to investigate while Grani is sending a recon squad to survey the border,"

"Things just got serious, huh," The Hazard paladin said.

"Of course it did, we're Royal Knights. Since when our job was easy?" Alphamon replied jokingly, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Uuh, when we had to babysit Sleipmon's cousins," Examon reminded him sheepishly.

"Oh yeah! Gosh, they were so adorable and polite!" Rhodoknightmon added happily, "I wonder when they are going to visit us again,"

"Never, Rhodoknightmon," Duftmon answered flatly, "And we're going off track here,"

"Come on, Duftmon, we can have some time to laugh and relax," Alphamon encouraged, "It is good for you to take your mind off work. Besides, I have nothing more to add, so the meeting's over by now,"

"Very well, I'll be in my quarter if any of you need me," Duftmon informed them as a matter-of-factly and head for the door.

"Yeah, I'm gonna hit the cot after a shower," Dukemon said before he left.

The knights filed out of the meeting room and went on their separate ways. Alphamon reached his personal quarter and took off his armour the moment he got in. He laid the various pieces on an armour rack and didn't bother to slip anything on him. He ungracefully flopped on the bed, its frames creaked heavily, threatening to collapse under the sudden weight.

He lied on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling. A deep sigh escaped through his nose. The mission must be extended, again, and that annoyed him. He was really looking forward to get some rest and actually get that meditating session Omegamon suggested before the deployment.

Alas, the mission came first. He has a war to prevent and he needed alot of energy to go through the day. Finally, he closed his eyes and put his mind to rest.

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, September 12th 2022._

"Okay, now on to the next question..." Noriko flipped through her notepads while Lieutenant-General Yamamoto waited patiently.

Takuya stood behind her, filming the whole interview and making sure that everything was working. The news team was in Yamamoto's office to interview him about the expedition's objectives and missions. So far the senior officer was kind enough to answer every question as clearly and as truthfully as possible. Questions about the Special Operations Forces however were avoided due to legal and military regulations.

"Ah yes!" Noriko said triumphantly, "General, after the first expedition, where more than 300 000 soldiers were deployed, we have seen a rapid decrease in the number of troops mobilized. The second expedition had only a force of 70 000 soldiers. Now you're at the command of 10 000 soldiers. Does that worry you or it is a good thing, despite the current diplomatic problem betweent the Metal Empire and the Sword Zone?" She asked inquisitively.

The general leaned forward on his chair, resting his arms on his desk and gave her a friendly and confident smile.

"It is a good sign. It shows to our world and the Digital World that we have faith and we trust in the Council of Network Security." He stated firstly, "The IDDF was created to be the first line of defense against any digimon threat. With the creation of the CNS and later of the DSF, we are tasked with insuring security and confidence to our citizens as well as to the digimon population. The decrease in troops is a step to the right direction. We are not the U.N's peacekeepers in this world, that is up to the DSF to uphold that duty. We are here to provide assistance, to advise and to support the DSF in their mission."

"So do you think that eventually, all IDDF expeditions will cease?" Noriko asked with piqued interest.

"It is best for both our and their worlds. The United Nations will eventually step in to establish economic and diplomatic relations with various nations of the Digital World,"

"Does that mean that in the near future, we might see humans walk in these lands and vice versa?"

"Of course! Hypnos and the National Diet are already working on some laws and protocols to welcome stray digimon and provide shelter, food and rights in the country. So it is possible that one day, digimon will be an intergral part of our society." Yamamoto answered optimistically.

"That does sound hopeful, but shouldn't we also worry about random digimon attacks?" The reported asked in a more serious tone, "From what I could gather, there have been reports of digimon "bio-emergences" since 2001. Though at that time they were small and extremely rare incidents and quickly eliminated by, what I presume, Hypnos's defensive protocols. But from 2005, these attacks were getting more frequent and dangerous, to the point that children with digimon partners were more effective than Hypnos. How do you explain such sudden change?"

"To answer your first question, measures have been made by Hypnos to reduce digimon bio-emergences. In case of a rogue digimon attack, a Quick Reaction Force will be deployed to either diffuse the situation or eliminate the threat. Our men are equipped and trained to deal with most digimon threats."

"As for Hypnos's lack of effective tools back in 2005, it is simply due to the rapid progression and development of technological hardwares and of the Internet. Hypnos wasn't prepared nor properly equipped to tackle such incidents."

"But is Japan the only country affected by digimon bio-emergences? Is it possible that digimon can one pop up in any country in the world whose uprepared?"

"That is an interesting question and I think it best to ask Hypnos about it, but from my knowledge, we should be safe from-"

Yamamoto was interrupted by frantic knocks at his office door. The interview stopped abruptly and everyone gazed back at the door with anticipation.

"Enter," The general said firmly.

A young soldier barged in and hastilly walked up to his superior, completely ignoring the two civilians in the room. He saluted him formally and handed the general a piece of paper, probably a written report from what Noriko could guess.

"Sir, we have an emergency," The enlisted soldier announced.

Yamamoto gave the man a questioning look before reading the report in his hands. His eyebrows furrowed to a deep frown. He read the report twice, making sure he wasn't mistaken. Alas, it as clearly written in black and white.

 _" **Train accident in the Metal Empire. Security Minister Susanoomon of the CNS was among the dead. Accident suspected to be a terrorist attack.**"_

"Um... I'm sorry to cut the interview short but I have some emergency calls to make," Yamamoto said curtly as he stood up, "It has been a pleasure but I'm afraid that we must continue this interview at a later date,"

Both civilians confusedly got up and pack up their equipment, following the general out of his office. He hastilly thanked them and shook their hands before he followed the soldier to the opposite side of the building, leaving Noriko and Takuya perplexed.

"Uuuh... now what...?" Takuya asked while rubbing the back on his head.


	8. Dawn of War

Chapter 8:

Dawn of War

 _September 16th 2022, Combat Outpost Rome, Sword Zone._

"IceDevimon, callsign "Vampire", is our main objective," Yuuki began the briefing, "He is a level 3 threat with a main focus on ranged ice attacks, so keep that in mind when engaging him."

Sat in front of him were the operators of Data Squad, his men. Their stares lingered over to their target's picture before returning their attention to him as he continued to speak.

"The intel we've received from the DSF suggests that this digimon may be linked with the insurgency. From what we could gather, it seems to confirm that theory." He switched the HVT's picture for an aerial drone image of a few scattered buildings situated in the middle of an agriculture field, "For three days straight, our drones have been observing this four story compound, designated "Charlie 0-6". As you can see, it is the only building with high walls, barbed wires and a dark camouflage netting that covers the rooftop. We've only managed to identify four other digimon, all of which are level 2 threats, possibly one is a level 3."

"The next day, a group of six other digimon went in the compound and never left that place. But then we spotted them stacking up crates at the outdoor courtyard, possibly weapons or bomb materials. Then, we spotted our suspect, pointing out directions at them, which is safe to assume that he's a leader... and we all know that leaders love to point at things." Yuuki humoured lightly, earning himself a round of chuckles from his men.

"Finally, an intelligence agency from the DSF have intercepted a call yesterday night between him and possibly his boss or a client. The gist of the conversation is that "Vampire" will meet that caller tonight at zero dark thirty at his compound. This will be a search and capture mission that will require stealth as not to alert the civilians around that compound."

The projector switched out the drone image for a map of the area of operations. The men were now starting to take notes for their plan of action and important locations displayed on the map.

"Joining us in this operation are the US Marines of Alpha Company, 1st Digital Marine Battalion. Their mission is to provide us fire support and to secure an outer ring perimeter around "Charlie 0-6". They will secure all four major crossroads, split into four chalks. Our forces will be split into three sections. Squad 3, you will provide the inner ring perimeter, cutting off these two roads... here and here..." He pointed at two roads that ran parallel on two sides of the compound. "Squad 2, you will breach through the Eastern entrance while Squad 1 will breach through the Western entrance. From there, Squad 2 will secure the courtyard and the stash while Squad 1 will pursue through the building and capture "Vampire". By the time we breach the compound, his guest will make his way through one of the major crossroads, the Americans will take care of them. Treat every digimon in that area as a potential threat; detain them if possible, eliminate if necessary. Once you've cleared the compound and captured "Vampire", we will exfil you on site while the Marines will regroup at a helo LZ. Are there any questions?"

Marcus rose his right hand up, "Do we have permission to neutralize "Vampire" if he's showing too much resistance?"

"Negative," The captain answered straightforwardly, "We cannot afford to lose this suspect, wound or taze him if you must, heck break his wings if you can, but you do not have authorization to neutralize the HVT."

"What about his subordinates?" Sergeant "Haru" Mizuhara asked.

"Neutralize them if you want or let the local authorities take care of them."

"Could we get any more detail about the compound? Like its layout, rooms, booby traps, guards..." First Lieutenant Itami asked concernly.

"Unfortunately at this time, we don't. This is as far as we can get of any information about the compound, so we're pretty much breaching in as blind as bats." Yuuki admitted to his dismay. "I know it sounds like I'm sending you to a suicide mission, but with the current pressing matters that is gathering at the border, we're running out of time. Any other questions?" He scanned the room for any hands up but was met with silence, which satisfied him, "Very well. Deployment begins at 2240 hours where four Blackhawks will pick you up at our usual LZ. Good luck and you may dismiss," He nodded at them before turning the lights on, leaving the projector on to let the operators observe the map more closely.

About half of them stepped closer to the screen, taking notes of the map, every detail of the area mattered. Among them was Itami, his eyes solely focused on the compound itself and his D-Scan displaying IceDevimon's stats. This operation was worrying him. They were up against strong hostiles at close quarters with practically zero knowledge of the building, which could result in a bloodbath in seconds. The only advantage they had was surprise and speed; they'll have to improvise along the way once they hit the ground.

He turned a page from his notebook and planned out his kit for the mission. He and his team are going to need to pack up some serious firepower if they want to survive and get the upperhand as soon as they head in the compound.

"Something bothering you, Itami-san?" Master Sergeant Fuse asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," He replied with a defeated sigh, "We're lacking crucial details about this place. It's stressing me alot that we know jackshit about this place. Even Seal Team 6 didn't get a hundred percent accurate intel when they went hunting for Bin Laden but they still had credible intel."

"True but those guys had more time to gather that intel, didn't get the pressure of another world war and they weren't fighting magical creatures from another world either." Fuse retorted sarcastically, "I don't mean disrespect to them, I'm fucking glad they killed that S.O.B but I still think they had it a teensy bit easier than us." He said with a proud grin.

"Well I guess we do have that brag right..." Itami conceded with a small smile. But that smile disappeared as quickly as it came. "But that doesn't beat the fact that we might get wiped out in one go,"

"To be frank, sir," Fuse began in a more serious tone, "You're not someone that plan things ahead..." The officer gazed at him with a confused look, "You're more of an adapter than a smart planner. You got married too soon, barely passed Ranger School, taking naps whenever and wherever you can, always getting into trouble with your CO, avoid facing your responsibilities, always lazy and you're an otaku-"

"Oi, oi, you can stop now..." Itami cut in, a flush of embarrassment setting across his cheeks.

"And the list goes on for you, sir..." Fuse continued, eyes glimming with amusement, "But aside from that, you did save thousands of lives during the invasion of Tokyo and you are a smart guy, when the need for it arises. Whatever the danger we may face, you can rest assure that we will make it out alive, thanks to you. You're a great leader despite what the initial report said after you've graduated Ranger School, "

"Geez, couldn't you just say that?! Do you have to embarrass me first?!" Itami complained with a pout.

"Yes," Fuse answered bluntly, still grinning smugly.

"You're a dick. You do know that, right?"

* * *

 _Camp Dawnstar's Airfield, Southern Region._

Noriko readjusted her helmet's chin straps before facing Takuya and his camera. Behind her, several V-22 Ospreys and CH-53K King Stallions were gathered on the tarmac as they await the Digital Marines for deployment. The roars of the rotorblades made it difficult for the reporter to speak over them while strong breezes constantly blew behind her.

"For the next ten days, I'll be joining the Marines of Charlie Company, 1st Digital Marines Battalion, US Marine Corps. As you can see behind me, the Marines are preparing for their next deployment at the troubled border of the Sword Zone, where tensions are rising with its neighbour, the Metal Empire." She said as loudly as possible, though she noted mentally that maybe they should add subtitles for this segment. "Their mission will be similar to previous engagements in our world such as in Afghanistan. But more notably, they are the expedition's vanguard force. With their Ospreys, they can be quickly deployed in most regions of the continent while the much heavier King Stallions will provide them the sufficient supplies to last them two whole months. With them, I will be also joining the rest of the battalion, starting with Alpha Company and later Bravo Company. Other forces are also mobilizing such as the British Army and the JSDF!"

"Annnd... cut!" Takuya shouted to conclude this segment.

"Was I loud enough?" She asked as she stepped closer to him.

"As loud as you possibly can be, with all the noises behind you," He replied with a nonchalant shrug, "I think we might edit in subtitles for the sake of understanding you," He suggested while they head towards the hangar packed full of Marines.

"Yeah that's what I thought," She agreed lowly.

"WHAT?" He asked as they walk past an Osprey.

"NOTHING!" She replied back.

The sounds of rotorblades became background noises as they reached the hangar, now replaced with the loud idle chatter of the Marines, preparing their equipment or standing around patiently. Takuya took a couple of shots of the hangar and of the Marines around him while Noriko sat down to do some last minute check-up of her rucksack. As she stood up to readjust her ballistic vest, a JSDF cruiser screeched to a halt right in front of the hangar, gathering curious stares from everyone.

To her immense surprise, her fellow correspondent and friend, Nanami Kuribayashi, jumped out of the vehicle, helmet and kevlar vest hastilly fastened with her travel backpack slinging on one shoulder. The woman smiled brightly at her colleagues and hurried over to them. Following her in a light jog was their second cameraman and photographer, Hiro Arisawa.

Normally, Noriko was supposed to be accompanied by Nanami as the military and Digimon expert since her older sister is a soldier that was once deployed in the Digital World. Unfortunately, she received an emergency call at the last minute due to her boyfriend's injury during a car accident. Hiro on the other hand called in sick a week before their departure, stating that he wouldn't be able to work for quite some time.

She smiled back and couldn't hold herself to hug her friend dearly, glad to have the whole team back. Hiro had a sheepish grin on his face and greeted Takuya first, whom glared at him for a second before playfully throwing punches at his shoulder.

"So you decide to show up _now_?! You goddamn slacker!" He joked while locking an arm around the man's neck.

"Look, dude, I had complications stacking up on me while you guys were away," Hiro explained, "I'm actually glad to be here and start working my ass off,"

"Yeah, you better be. I'm getting tired of babysitting digimon all day long,"

"You were babysitting digimons?" Nanami asked them with an intrigued stare.

"Ugh, it's a long story... I'll tell you about it after we've landed to the other camp," Noriko promised with a sigh.

Their chatter was cut short when the Marines fell silent and snapped their boots together, causing a unified echo to silence the whole hangar. The reporters turned around as a Marine, they assume to be the commanding officer, stood in front of his men.

"Charlie Company! Grab your shit 'cause we're moving out now!" The officer bellowed firmly.

On command, the Marines picked up their packs and weapons and started to march to their designated transport helicopters in orderly lines. The reporters grabbed their stuff and stood around confusely, not knowing whom to follow.

"Are you the embedded reporters?" The same officer asked them in fluent Japanese.

"Yes, sir," Noriko replied loudly.

"Come along, then, we're leaving soon," He instructed, prompting the news crew to follow him among a dozen or so Marines.

Hiro filmed them as they embark on one of the hybrid aircrafts that littered the tarmac. The crew were the first ones in, followed by the officer and finally the Marines. Noriko felt slightly crushed between Takuya and a Marine. She clipped the safety belts on, her hands moving around carefully as to not disturb the tall soldier beside her. Once everyone was squished in the aircraft, the whole bird rattled and shook as it started to lift off ground. She looked around, gazing at the Americans whom seemed completely calm though some did complain about the uncomfortable seats. Sitting at the opposite side were Nanami and Hiro, the former looked quite nervous by the aircraft's constant shaking while the latter fell asleep right away, not bothered by the loud noises.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" The officer asked Nanami loudly.

"Ah...Y-yeah, it's my first time in this type of aircraft," The woman replied loudly.

The man nodded before he gazed at Noriko, "How about you? All fine?"

"Yes, uh, sir..."

"Richards," He introdused himself with a charismatic smile, "Lieutenant-Colonel William Richards, Battalion Commander,"

"Mochizuki Noriko," She replied politely.

She, Nanami and Richards talked for awhile, generally discussing about security protocols and the current situation they're about to thrust into. While helpful and informative, Noriko noticed that Richards wasn't telling the whole picture. Sure there was a dangerous insurgency plaging the border but he didn't press much into the matter. Whatever it was, she hoped that it won't put her and her crew members in danger. They just need to survive three more weeks before the news team could go home and start working on their documentary.

 _Camp Tolkien, Sword Zone._

Hundreds of Marines were piling up at the camp's airfield. The new reinforcements were a welcoming sight for the tired and stressed out Sword Zone Armed Forces. As for the humans, it was a relief to have more guns, ammo and manpower at this troubling time. That being said, Raymond knew deep down it wasn't enough to intimidate the D-Brigade army that was amassing at the other side of the border. Suppressing that thought away from his mind, he finished up his cup of coffee, threw it at a nearby bin and walked in the briefing room.

As expected, all platoon leaders and sergeants of his company were present, facing the detailed map pinned on the black board.

"ATTEN-SHUN!" Gunnery-Sergeant Porter announced sternly, causing everyone to stand on their feet straightly and sharply.

"At ease..." Raymond replied soon after in a relaxed manner.

His executive officer, First Lieutenant Sullivan, shot him a curious glance. The company commander responded with a subtle shrug. Once the Marines took their seats, they stared at him with attentive eyes and ears.

"I've gathered you all here because there are some changes for tonight's operation. We will mobilize at 2140 hours, that's an hour before the Japanese SF get to the target building." He could see some of the men rolling their eyes in annoyance, "The reason for that is simply due to our size and the perimeter we must secure. It will take us some time to secure the outer ring. Also, joining us is a company of JSDF, the ones stuck here with us," He added jokingly, earning a couple of chuckles and snickers, "They will be joining us much later with APCs and transports at exfil site "Delta", right over there..." He pointed at the marked spot on the map."Once we receive the green light from the special forces, we will regroup over there and return to base with our prisonner at about 0200 hours." The whole room was filled with aggravated groans, "I know, it's going to be a long night us but it is crucial to get a lead and possibly put a stop to this insurgency before it pushes the two neighbours to war,"

* * *

 _Stonesbourg, Sword Zone, 2230 hours, Operation "Wind Stalker"._

The night was deadly quiet apart from a few chirps from the crickets and other nighttime bugs that inhabited the Digital World. The sky was clear of clouds, bright data particles sparkled brightly like stars back in the Real World. Under the cover of darkness, surrounding a few sleeping homes, were Marines of Alpha company waiting patiently and remaining on high alert as they scan their surroundings. The Marines have discreetly and successfully secured all four major crossroads, cutting any escape routes for the HVT living in the compound "Charlie 0-6".

Raymond scanned the road ahead of him through his night vision goggles. He glanced down at his wristwatch, activating its low light to see clearer through the goggles. In ten minutes, Japanese Special Forces will drop in around the target building and storm in to capture "Vampire". His men were tasked with capturing a secondary target who will arrive in a couple more minutes, hopefully.

"Something's coming up," He heard a Marine whisper in the darkness.

The Marines of third squad, Second Platoon, tensed up behind their cover; slightly raising their weapon and ready to spring an ambush at the incoming individual. Raymond peered out of his cover and brought the ACOG up to eye level, aiming the trijicon reticule at the only source of light. The light belonged to a latern attached to a stagecoach. The stagecoach was being pulled by a Pegasusmon with a Wizardmon for a driver. The equine digimon was trotting on the gravel road at a slow and relaxed pace while Wizard fell in and out of consciousness, probably extremely tired and not paying a dime of attention on the road. The stagecoach itself was black and silver with intricate and complex angelic designs craved on the side doors.

In other words, it looked important and that was a good sign for him.

"I have possible ID of Target Beta. Standby for my command," He instructed through his headset comms.

Once the stagecoach got closer, he stood up and stepped up in the middle of the road. In an instant, a dozen of Marines sprung out of rocks, bushes and ditches and flanked the surprised stagecoach. Pegasusmon instinctively swirved away from the Marines, startled and panicking. The violent turn threw Wizardmon off his seat and landed harshly on his back, wheezing and grunting in pain. The stagecoach was soon subdued when Porter pointed his bayonet fixed rifle at the winged horse's throat.

Swiftly and roughly, the Marines pulled the side doors opened and sternly ordered the passenger off the carriage. The passenger was a MetalEtemon, a calm but cocky digimon. Raymond walked past his Marines and straight to the suspected individual, whom had his hands raised placantly.

"Do you have an identification card or passport on you? So that we can properly identify you." Raymond demanded neutrally.

"Why, yes. It's inside the bag in there," MetalEtemon nodded to the stagecoach.

Raymond nodded to Porter to approve the search then returned his gaze to the metallic ape. "Care to tell us why you're here at this time of the night?"

"I think I should ask _you_ that question, human," MetalEtemon replied with a smug grin.

"Answer the question, sir." Raymond commanded firmly.

"Going home from a long business trip," The digimon answered calmly.

"And is your home perhaps that one over there?" Raymond pointed at the target building.

"No, no. I'm was just going to make a stop at my friend's house. In fact, how did you know I was about to head over there?"

"Call it a hunch," The Marine officer replied dismissively.

Porter returned to him with several paper documents and the digimon's ID card and business card. Raymond carefully observed the ID card then at the business card. The digimon was the C.E.O of a weapon and armour manufacture. He then took out his D-Scan and pointed at the digimon. It beeped about a second later and displayed the gathered information.

He nodded to his company sergeant, "Detain them."

MetalEtemon looked at the humans around him confusely but complied nonetheless. With Pegasusmon and Wizardmon, he was dragged off the road and behind a bush where other Marines stood guard. Then two black helicopters swooped in above their heads and towards his "friend's" house. His jaw dropped slightly.

Raymond took notice but didn't say a word, instead he was more interested at the documents presented to him. He picked up his small torchlight and read the documents. The red low-light made it a bit difficult for him to read but he can tell that these documents were very important and could probably lead them to insurgent supply drop points, weapon caches, factories, personnel and maybe even their boss. They've hit the jackpot.

Then a document caught his attention. It was different from the others, this looked more like a medical examination report than a business transcript. That confirmed it when he noticed on the upper left-hand corner another company's symbol, probably a research and development corporation or something. The report treats about an individual, named simply as "Subject XX". Now it was either read as "double X" or "twenty", Raymond couldn't tell but whoever it was about, he can't identify the digimon the report was describing.

His eyebrows furrowed and he took a glance at MetalEtemon. The ape digimon was getting increasingly nervous and agitated. He placed the interested document on a rock, took out his notepad and wrote down any important details about the mysterious digimon before he could hand it off to the DSF.

"You can't do this!" MetalEtemon protested angrily, "You can't just apprehend digimon like that and search their homes! You're not the law here, you're just humans!" He continued, his voice getting louder and more agitated.

"That's where you're wrong, sir," Raymond replied in a serious tone, "We do have permission from the CNS to arrest and search digimon suspected of a crime. In yours and your friend's case: you are both suspected to collaborate with the insurgents."

"Madness! This is madness!" The digimon retorted furiously, "Do you know who I AM?! You humans think you own this place, huh?! Peacekeepers? More like conquerors! Invaders!"

His constant protests were getting louder and could potentially attract some unwanted attention. Raymond instructed his men to shut him up. They complied by tying a shemagh around the ape's mouth, preventing him from forming any coherent words. His two employees, frightful of the humans, remained silent.

* * *

Marcus's boots hit the ground with a heavy thud. He took off the thick gloves and shouldered his SCAR-H CQB. He followed his team to the entrance and hugged the wall. In front of him was Itami with Sergeant "Manny" Suzuki on point. Once the whole team was by the entrance, the BlackHawk flew away, the dust tornado dissipated quickly.

"Squad 1 in position," Itami reported.

 _"Squad 2 in position,"_

 _"Squad 3 in position,"_

 _"Copy that. All units, you have green light for entrance."_ "Godfather" announced.

On cue, Suzuki gently placed a small breaching charge around the doorknob, a string was connected from one end to the detonator. He signalled his squadmates to back away a couple of steps and raised his right hand up. He brought up three fingers...

Then two...

One...

His hand clenched to a fist.

A loud but short _boom_ tore the doorknob off. Suzuki kicked the door in and let the squad storm in. Another explosion was heard at the other side of the courtyard where Squad 2 breached in and began securing the area. The operators bounded to the building's front door and awaited for Itami's command. The squad leader tapped the pointman behind his shoulder, prompting him to carefully and slowly reach for the doorknob. He pushed the knob down, tried to pull the door open then tried to push it open; it won't budge. The pointman shook his head and rose his right fist up, then hit the side of his helmet twice.

Marcus moved out his spot and jogged to the other side of the door, facing Suzuki. The latter pulled out a breaching hammer, heaved it over the doorknob and swung at it slowly to adjust his swing at the proper angle. Marcus tensed up and readied himself to cover his squadmate. The hammer's head slammed violently into the door, bending it inward. Suzuki swung at it a second.

 _Slam!_

The doorknob broke in, leaving a sizeable hole on the door. Marcus took Suzuki's place and forcefully kicked the door in. The door's hinges finally gave in and it fell inside the hall, hitting the floor in a loud heap. Stealth was now out of the question; speed is key for this mission. The compound's occupants were stirred from their slumber, disoriented and confused by the loud ruckus. No words or commands has been exchanged between the operators; they stormed in and sweeped through the ground floor, methodically clearing each room.

"Wha-"

Three quiet, metallic cracks rung from the first bedroom, followed by a heavy, meaty thump. The operators indiscriminately neutralized every digimon unfortunate enough to be in their line of sight.

"Bedroom to the left, clear!"

"Bedroom to the right, clear!"

"Living room, clear!"

"Kitchen and dining room, clear!"

"Bathroom, clear!"

"Hallway, clear! Ground floor, clear. Move up to next floor." Itami ordered.

The operators regrouped at the bottom of the staircase and proceeded upwards at a steady pace, scanning their corners in the darkness. Movement could be heard from the upper floors, the occupants were probably aware that they were being raided. Reaching the first floor, the operators picked up their pace and broke formation, spliting into two groups. Doors were being kicked down and flashbangs were thrown in the rooms. The residents screamed in pain, blinded and dazed by the loud and bright explosions.

Resistance was nonexistant. Each room was cleared; silent and covered with puddles and splashes of blood and empty bullet casings. The first floor was clear and as they were about to move up to the second floor, a barrage of icicles soared at them by surprise. Suzuki was instantly killed, taking the brunt of the attack to his entire body. Marcus was spared, unfortunately because of Suzuki. His squadmate's body slumped heavily on him while the rest of the squad opened fire at the fleeing IceDevimon.

"Son of a bitch!" Master Sergeant Fuse hissed in anger and pain. An icicle was planted into his right palm. "Keep moving!" He ordered the men.

The rest of the squad wordlessly marched up the steps, leaving behind Marcus who held Suzuki's lifeless body in his arms. He held on to him, shock written on his face. Marcus had already witnessed some of the most gruesome deaths during his career: torn up bodies and limbs, mangled corpses, blown up heads, everything. And somehow after witnessing Suzuki's corpse, another death that added in his mentally broken list, brought back these painful memories. He soon recovered from the shock when he felt a firm hand grasping his arm.

"Get on your feet, Sledge! We'll make him pay for that!" Fuse told him sternly and pulled him up.

Marcus quietly nodded and followed the rest of the squad. The second floor easily cleared and secured. The men coldly executed the remaining insurgents and proceeded to chase IceDevimon. Itami took the lead, running up to the third floor with his squad a couple of steps away.

"All callsigns, I have positive ID on Vampire! He's making for the rooftop!" The lieutenant reported urgently through the comms.

"Zero Freeze!"

Itami dove under the freezing beam attack. The other operators managed to dodge the attack by a hair's breath. He raised his battle rifle and switched the flashlight on, blinding IceDevimon. The men regrouped behind him, weapons drawn up and aimed at their target.

"On your knees and hands where we can see them!" Itami yelled sternly. "I said on YOUR KNEES!" He shouted with more authority when the HVT didn't comply.

IceDevimon growled in irritation before his wings wrapped around him, shielding himself from the blinding light. Then, in a blink of an eye, he closed the distance between them, his feet barely touching the floor as if levitating. Surprised, the men opened fire. The digimon ignored the pain and made a bee line for Itami. He spread his wings out to distract the humans while he readied his claws to slice his prey in pieces.

Marcus didn't hesitate to shoot at the fallen angel's exposed body. He aimed for the hips and pulled the trigger. The rifle kicked like a mule against his shoulder. A single round burst out of the suppressor and penetrated IceDevimon's leathery skin. Blood shot out of wound and the digimon bent forward in shock, entirely missing his intented target as he swiped at the empty air.

Itami, now his back against the floor, swiped his legs at the digimon's, causing the latter to lose balance and fall to the ground. Fuse picked up the pace and drew out his pistol. He stomped on IceDevimon's right arm painfully. He then fired at his right shoulder. The digimon wailed in agony before he was brought to silence by a swift and powerful side kick to the face from Sergeant First Class "Archer" Nakagawa. Roughly, the men cuffed the target's hands behind his back and dragged him down the stairs without a care for his safety. They didn't want to admit it, but they were vehemently pissed off and wanted nothing more than to hang the bastard here and there with a wooden stake planted to the heart. A fitting death for a cold vampire.

However, they were ordered to bring "Vampire" alive and if possible without a single scratch. They'll just have to justify the wounds as _an unfortunate turn of events_ when they'll get a debrief. With the HVT secured and under custody, the mission isn't over yet. Now they need to clear the whole building and search for any useful intel: documents, pictures, computers, phones, faxes, anything.

Squad 2 had already burn down the supply caches and were on their way to clean through the ground floor. Marcus and Fuse were instructed to comb the fourth floor while the remaining operators started to search though the third floor.

Now certain and confident that all residents were neutralized, the two operators calmly went to investigate each room. With each room they visited, they will turn the place upside down, completely redecorating it into a dump with papers, personal belongings and furnitures littered across the floor.

As they were clearing through the master bedroom, turning over the mattress and pillows, Marcus stopped his action when he could faintly hear muffled cries behind him. Fuse stopped as well when he wasn't moving a muscle. The senior operator gave him a confused look, to which he replied with a hush and pointed to his ears. _"Listen..."_

Together, they tried to pinpoint the sound's direction, thoroughly and attentively listening into the muffled crying. It sounded desperate and frantic, as if calling out for help. The sounds were leading to a bookshelf or rather behind it. The operators rushed to the furniture and pushed it aside. They were met by a blank wall but they could still hear those cries. Marcus planted his left ear against the wall. His eyes widened with shock; he can clearly hear someone from the other side.

Seeing the surprise on his face, Fuse ran out of the room and down the staircase. Seconds later, he returned with Sergeant First Class "Lancer" Sakurai, holding Suzuki's breaching hammer.

"Right there." Fuse ordered.

Sakurai hefted the hammer and swung at the wall with all of his might. The stone wall easily gave in, a large hole broke through and a horrible stench escaped from within. The men grimaced and backed away, momentarily forgetting the loud and frantic muffled cries. It smelled like a wet dog that rolled in a puddle of mud and stayed like that for weeks without a shower. Marcus peeked in the whole, bringing his rifle up to lit up the secretive room with the attached flashlight.

He felt a cold chill down his spine. The room looked straight out of a horror movie, or a cheap slasher. The whole room had been plastered and painted with a dark grey colour. A single dim lightbulb hung from the ceiling. Directly below it on the ground was a sinkhole. To the right side of the small room was a dirty bathtub, with fur and blood scattered everywhere. To the left, was a single steel trolley with different and used medical equipment like tweezers, scaplers, scissors and syringes. Parts of the trolley was stained with dried up blood with fur stuck to it.

And to the middle of the room, binded painfully against the wall, was a digimon. A black, humanoid fox to be exact. Their mouth was muffled by a leather ball gag. The digimon looked like shit. They were covered in bruises and deep cuts, battered and almost thin to the bones. Blood, sweat and possibly dirt was smeared on their black and white fur.

"Christ! There's someone in there!" He shouted urgently.

Sakurai wasted no time to break the wall down. Marcus helped him by tearing away some of the stone bricks until they have a hole big enough for them. After seconds of bashing the wall down, he jumped in and rushed to the wounded and weak digimon. He carefully lifted their chin up and unhooked the ball gag behind the back of their head. The digimon breathed out and panted heavily. They then stared into Marcus's eyes, mouth quivering and tears of joy running down their tattered fur.

"T-Thank you!" She sobbed weakly.

He and Sakurai unbinded the civilian and gently escorted her out of the room. Fuse had gone to inform Itami about their finding and to request a medical team as soon as they return to base. The digimon, identified as BlackRenamon, held dearly onto Marcus, afraid to be abandonned in that dreadful and horrible building.

A plume of black smoke rose from the courtyard, the incendiary grenades melted the weapon caches and other supplies that would help the insurgents in their operations. This was certaintly a successful operation and a painful blow to the insurgency.

The operators around him stared curiously at the lone digimon, the only one Itami's squad spared during the raid. BlackRenamon trembled against him, her beaten body must have been more sensitive and fragile to the natural elements, not even her fur can shield her from the early autumn winds. Marcus fetched through his first aid pouch and pulled out a plastic bag. He ripped the packaging open and pulled out the thermal blanket.

"Here, wear this," He instructed her, "This will keep you warm," He assured her while wrapping her with the thin, plastic sheet.

"T-thanks..." She said with a wavering voice.

"Why don't you sit down by that door? I'll get a medic to treat your injuries," She agreed with a small nod, walking over to the curtain wall and cautiously sat down, grimacing when pain shot through her body.

He went out of the compound to look for Master Sergeant Daisuke Park, or "Doc" as most operators call him. Moments later he returned with Doc beside him. The medic talked softly and was careful to not cause any more harm as he examined the numerous cuts and bruises on her body. Marcus then looked around for Fuse, he wanted to know if he treated the wound on his palm. As if on cue, Fuse walked past him while discussing with Itami. The senior NCO was clutching his bandaged palm, the icicle still implanted in his hand.

Minutes dragged on as the operators waited for their exfil to officially end the operation. Those minutes turned into an hour and they were getting restless. The US Marines who manned the outer ring were also getting frustrated, their exfil convoy was having difficulties traversing the mountaineous and foresty terrains.

Finally the familiar sounds of rotorblades echoed in the sky. The men were all gathered outside of the compound, awaiting for the BlackHawks to land on the grassfield at the other side of the road.

 _"Sorry we're late. We had a fuel leak on the way and had to RTB!"_ One of the pilots explained sheepishly.

* * *

"Convoy's here!" Porter reported to Raymond.

"Copy," He acknowledged, "Alright, get them to the vehicles." He ordered the Marines guarding the prisonners. "All callsigns, this is Alpha-Leader, regroup to exfil site. Ten mikes until we RTB, double time." He instructed through the company's communication channel.

The Marines must get out of the AO to avoid waking up the entire neighbourhood. The rumbles of the engines and the bright headlights were enough to cause some residents to peek outside of their windows to investigate. If they keep drawing more attention, the humans might get public outrage for conducting a secretive raid or worse get ambushed by possible insurgents; anyone can be a threat or an informant in this situation.

After dragging MetalEtemon and his employees over a whole block to the vehicles, they forced them to mount in the transport trucks while scattered groups of Marines rushed to the convoy and embarked in the IFVs. Raymond had to make sure that all Marines were accounted for and no one was left behind. God knows what kind of shitstorm it'll be if _that_ happened. To his relief, everyone made it to the vehicles without getting lost – and that's an accomplishment coming from his men for it won't be the first time they've got lost in the dark.

He jogged to the lead LAV and knocked on the driver's windshield, "We're good to go!" He said to the Japanese vehicle commander.

"Hai!" The JSDF officer nodded with a thumbs up.

As the convoy made its way out of the town's outskirts, more curious digimon woke up to the foreign and loud cacophony of engines and tires. Fortunately, the civilians only caught a glimpse of the convoy without much care, oblivious to the raid that happened mere minutes before.

The next morning, the civilians returned to their daily routine without further incident. The mission was a success.

About six hours later, IceDevimon was handed off to Gaioumon and Saviorhackmon for interrogation while MetalEtemon and his two employees remained in human custody until their future transfer to camp Dawnstar where they'll be interrogated by Japanese intelligence.

In the mean time, Raymond decided to do his own research with the notes he took last night. Eventhough it wasn't his job to investigate on the suspects, it wasn't illegal either since he wasn't tampering with evidence; he just copied a small bit, just in case it was _necessary_. Besides, he didn't care about MetalEtemon and his evolment with the insurgents. No, Raymond was more concerned about "subject XX".

Since he stepped foot in the Digital World for a second time, his nightmarish "visions" returned to haunt him. This time they were more gruesome, grimer and felt so real. He would always wake up at three in the morning in cold sweat and shivering like a small child waking up from a bad dream.

The same horrific scene would repeat every night: a burning city, unknown soldiers lying dead in pools of blood and mangled corpses, panicked screaming from civilians echoed in the background while devilish and hysterical laughter closed in behind him. He would be on his knees on a devastated street, paralyzed among the dead. Then one prominent figure would appear before him, an unknown digimon, a creature – no, a monster – he couldn't identify nor recognize. The nightmare ends with that monster skewering him with its long, sharp claws. The only feature he can remember from that digimon were those dreaded crimson eyes with hollow white "X" shaped pupils.

It couldn't be Bephelmon: Rage Mode – the first digimon to haunt him and the same fucker who would eat human corpses before his very eyes – _that_ digimon was already bad and he is still scared shitless of that but the new digimon was ten times worse. From a distance it didn't look that threatening; it was much thinner and smaller than Bephelmon and it had a feminine figure rather than being a hulking goat monster. But unlike Bephelmon, who would simply use raw strenght and pure rage to kill anyone in their path, this digimon was calculated, methodic and smart.

After reading through the document about "subject XX", his guts felt like they crushed themselves out of fear, his spine tingled and cold sweat poured out of his face. The subject's physical description was far too similar to the one he saw in his nightmares.

And if that... that **thing** is real, either caged up or roaming the world freely, he better kill it before it destroys his company and possibly the Real World. He cares for his Marines and if that digimon could be eliminated early than they would save themselves from that disaster. The sooner that monster is dead, the sooner his men would avoid getting killed by it.

He took his D-Scan and a USB cable to link the device with his service laptop. Hypnos has done an incredible job at registering digimon identities and created a database for the IDDF personnel to use. Although the IDDF and ISAF were two different organizations, for obvious reasons, the former did however somewhat transformed into the same model as ISAF. The soldiers now returned to the familiar "Hearts and Minds" policy and additional police work or "security service" as politicians like to phrase it. In other words, the IDDF became ISAF but in another world. There was a rumour that the UN would disband IDDF and relocate the ressources and manpower to ISAF so as to expand its function, role and effenciency in both worlds without spliting billions of dollars worth of budget for essentially two identical organizations.

Putting that thought aside, he accessed the IDDF Digimon Database and began to search for a "subject XX". Unfortunately his search proved to be fruitless since there weren't any digimon they've registered yet to fit the physical description. The closest he got were the thousands of Gatomon and its other variations, which were highly unprobable to be the monster of his vision.

Defeated, he closed his computer and leaned back on his chair, staring blankly at his notepad. He _could_ maybe sketch the digimon, at least he would get a clearer picture. He can draw but his has gotten a bit rusty eversince he joined the Corps and it got worse when he got promoted to second lieutenant. The lack of free time and the amount of paperwork along with combat and stress have deeply affected his drawing skills. His hands were more used to holding a rifle than a pencil. And the little times where he did draw were mostly doodles of various firearms, monsters and knights, and on rare instances: perverted doodles of his girlfriend.

Those were the simple times of being a grunt infantryman: eat, sleep, workout, clean your rifle and masturbate.

Light knocks came at his door. "Come in," He replied flatly while placing his notepad back in his trousers' pocket.

Sullivan entered his office and saluted him. He returned the gesture in a more informal and relaxed manner.

"Sir, the intelligence officers are here for the prisonners and evidence transfer," His XO informed him formally. "They are waiting for you at the MP station,"

"Right..." He muttered as he stood up before he followed the lieutenant out of the building.

* * *

She escaped one small room to end up in another mere hours later. Though it was more spacious and less horrific than the previous one, the painful memories of her torture is still fresh in her mind and she has the scars to prove it. In this case, she wasn't tortured but interrogated by two Mega-level digimon; whom she recognized one of them. Lieutenant Gaioumon was one of her colleagues before her disappearance. They weren't friends but she held a high level of respect and admiration for the draconic samurai; he was after all a war hero to the Republic of Node.

As much as she wanted to hug him and cry in relief, her wounds, mental and physical, have broke her in numerous ways. She was fearful of them, ashamed and traumatized. She couldn't even muster the strenght to look at them in the eyes. She failed her mission, her team, her superiors, her honour and her friends. A lot of digimon perished under her command during that fateful reconnaissance operation. It was a slaughter... their cries of agony haunting her to this day. Those who died during the ambush were spared from the horrendous tortures enacted by a single digimon: IceDevimon.

For what she can tell, she was the lone survivor.

BlackRenamon stared at her own dirty and injured paws, resting on her thighs. A flash of anger spawned in her, her paws clenching into tight fists until her own claws dug into her skin and cause minor bleeding.

"I know you're still hurt from all of this..." Saviorhackmon spoke up with empathy in his voice, "But we need you to talk to us, BlackRenamon. Help us get the culprits who did this to you and your unit,"

She froze up. Her mouth paralized and hands trembling. Her eyes started to well up while she resisted strongly the urge to cry right in front of them. _"You don't deserve this... You should've died there... It was all your fault you failed... You're not even worthy of being a clan maiden..."_ Her shattered mind whispered into her ears.

"Please, sergeant. You need to talk to us," Urged Saviorhackmon, oblivious to the Rookie's current mental state. Gaioumon just observed her in silence. "Listen," the white knight continued, "What happened five months ago wasn't your fault,"

That managed to break the ice, he noted, but not with the desired result.

"It wasn't _my_ fault?" She finally spoke up in a dark tone, "My unit got butchered and tortured! I didn't even order a tactical retreat! I forced them to push forward and they got torn to pieces! Each. Of . Them. GONE!" She furiously screamed at him, startling the knight in his seat, "I let my fucking PRIDE get the better of me! And my friends paid with their blood! I could've escaped that horrid place and saved them when I had multiple opportunities! I should've died trying but I didn't! I stayed in that fucking room like a coward that I am! I've lost _everything_ in a single night! I was scared and a coward! And you dare to say to my face that it _wasn't_ my FAULT?!" She slammed her paws hard on the metallic table, actually bending the surface under her fists.

"So what?! Their deaths weren't in vain?! They died for NOTHING! I went M.I.A for five months! It was a disastreous failure that resulted with me being the only survivor!"

She felt a sudden exhaustion taking her body and she fell back on her seat, "I-I-I could've s-saved them... but I didn't! I-I was afraid..."

She slammed her head on the table and sobbed, paws behind her head and trying to suppress the internal screams and throbbing headache by clawing at her skull. It was useless as Saviorhackmon immediately restrained her hands behind her back. When he got back to his chair, he and Gaioumon let her cry until there were no more tears and only small hiccups.

"It wasn't you fault, Rena," Gaioumon stated bluntly. Her head perked up and gazed at him in confusion, "What happened five months ago wasn't your fault," He reiterated firmly, "There was absolutely nothing you could've done that would prevent that. You were doomed to fail from the start." That hit her like a speeding Locomon.

"W-what...?" She croaked out, completely bewildered and perplexed.

"You had false intel of the operation. We noticed that when we read through the After Action Report. I know there was something off about the details of the intel because I personally reviewed it before the green light." He explained coldly, "Me and a few others conducted an investigation for any traitors or infiltrators because that intel had been tampered with and modified with false information. Two weeks later, we arrested Chief Warrant Officer Nanomon for treason. He admitted to collaborate with IceDevimon and the insurgents. And he has been doing that for a whole year, right under our noses..."

Gaioumon looked away in shame and sighed heavily, "We haven't stopped searching for you but with all the infromation about IceDevimon being false, we were blind dogs. We had to start from scratch and when we had a lead, the DSF decided to shift our focus on counter-terrorism and labelled you as M.I.A. They then gave up and assumed you and your unit were dead."

He stared back into her eyes with regret and guilt, "I'm sincerely sorry for what happened to your teammates. They were honourable and very brave digimon, just like you and it is with great sadness and regret to learn that they perished in one night. The enemy was ahead of us and we failed you... and we paid a terrible price for it."

"How... how long have you been looking for us?" BlackRenamon asked weakly, tears rolling down her matted cheeks while staring between the two operatives.

"... Two months..." Gaioumon answered stoically.

"Oh my god..." The black vixen closed her mouth with her shaky hands, unable to process the whole information. She repeatedly shook her head in denial as she rocked back and forth in her seat.

"BlackRenamon, I understand this is very hard for you but-"

"Leave..." She cut in dryly, surprising Saviorhackmon.

"I beg you pardon?" He asked confusedly.

"Leave me alone..." She repeated menacingly.

"Surely you can't be ser-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She yelled at them, throwing the table to the side and spilling paper and coffee on the ground.

"Very well, we will do that," The sergeant conceded rapidly before he and Gaioumon retreated out of the room. Closing the door behind them, he let out a shaky breath and gazed at the samurai. "Was that true? All of it?" The senior operative nodded silently. "Did the colonel really just abandonned her?" He pressed on, sounding angry yet distraught, "How... I mean, _why_ in the world would he do that?"

"He didn't..." Gaioumon corrected. Saviorhackmon tilted his head to the side, not quite understanding, "He wanted to continue the search but we were running out of resources, time and manpower. The search was sidetracking us away from our primary objective. So I called it off so we can shift our focus back on tracking the insurgents' leader,"

"Y-you did WHAT?!"

"I tried to find them, Saviorhackmon, I truly did. But with every evidence we gather, it was quickly chucked away to being false. We were running around in circles and I convinced myself that they were all dead. So I left it as M.I.A and gave up."

"You mean there could've been others out there, alive and holding on for rescue?" Saviorhackmon asked in disbelief.

"Maybe," He replied coldly.

The draconic knight froze in place, not knowing how to react to such revelation. He wanted to be angry, lash out to Gaioumon for betraying the digimon under his command but he simply couldn't. He breathed out slowly, remaining as calm as possible and stared at his back.

"So... so what do we do now?"

"We let her cool off for a couple more minutes, an hour if we must. Keep her hydrated, provide her lunch and make sure she doesn't try to kill herself. I'm going to contact Kaisergreymon and brief him about this." Gaioumon instructed coldly, leaving BlackRenamon's care to his hands.

* * *

 _General Command HQ, Camp Dawnstar, Southern Region._

The tension at the Red Line was at an all times high. Since the CNS Security Minister's assassination, any attempt for negociation has ceased between the two belligerent states: the Sword Zone and the Metal Empire. The CNS have unanimously agreed to push for a more aggressive action and mobilized a peacekeeping force of 20 000 troops from the DSF, in order to dissuade the two states from attacking one another. The Royal Knights Order has already a contigency force of 800 troops at the ready and the Dramon Republic has committed to supply the allied forces.

On the other hand, under Lieutenant-General Yamamoto's orders, the IDDF hasn't formally responded to the CNS's request for military support. Sure they've sent additional Marines and JSDF troops on the ground but it was nowhere near nor enough to be a dissuassion force. And this lack of response has certaintly sparked heated debates between the two organisations and among Yamamoto's joint command staff. With the DSF High Command pressuring him for a response, he needed to act soon. He summoned the commanding officers of each respective armed forces to the situation room and discuss their next course of action.

"The CNS is getting impatient and the situation at the Red Line is spiralling out of control," Yamamoto began grimly, "Both the Metal Empire and the Sword Zone are amassing troops at the border and are getting ready for war. Meanwhile we're still nowhere near to find the insurgent leader responsible for all of this political disaster. As of right now, we have about 600 American and Japanese troops stationed at the border, undermanned and ill-equipped to survive a full frontal assault, let alone a siege from the Metal Empire. They lack armour support, heavy weapons and artillery support. The nearest firebase is sixty kilometers further South-East of the border, which means that the artillery units can't hit the D-Brigade advance and we will leave a clear path that leads straight to the capital city."

"What's the current political situation over there, sir?" Asked Colonel West curiously.

"Very bad," Yamamoto answered coldly, "Fracture has gone deaf and will not listen to reason. However, the DSF are willing to negociate with the field commander of the D-Brigade force currently stationed at other side of the border. We've identified the commander and from what we can gather, he seems to be a reasonable digimon."

"We can start mobilizing the First Combat Unit, they'll reach the Sword Zone in three days though," Suggested Colonel Legein.

"Yes sir! Let my men join the fight!" Colonel Naoki Kamo, commander of the First Combat Unit, begged excitedly.

"Heh, my men will reach the frontline in a day," Colonel Shunya Kengun chimed in proudly, commander of the airborne cavalry of the Fourth Combat Unit, "The war will be over before your tanks could roll through the countryside," He added sarcastically.

"Our mission is not to wage war, gentlemen," Yamamoto stated firmly, "We are on a peacekeeping mission."

"With all due respect, general, how are we suppose to maintain peace when we're siding with the Sword Zone?" Colonel Becker pointed out with a frown, "Quite frankly, sir, I personally believe that our friend Chaosdramon will attack the Sword Zone no matter the consequences and we must prepare ourselves for that,"

"I'm inclined to agree with him, sir," Colonel West said with worry, "The Metal Empire is amassing an invasion force right in front of our troops. If a war broke out, God knows how long they'll survive without proper equipment and support,"

"But don't you have an air base located near the Sword Zone?" Yamamoto replied.

"Well yes, seventy kilometers East of Sword Zone but we simply do not have the arsenal to counter a probable invasion force, let alone stall them long enough for reinforcements to arrive,"

"It is still enough to intimidate them," He stated convincingly.

"...What do you mean by that?" The others were as confused as the British officer.

"It is clear that the Metal Empire may go to war, but we need to buy ourselves time if we must fortify our defenses and hope that we could talk Chaosdramon and his commanders down from attacking the Sword Zone." He then turned to Colonel Kengun.

"I want your men ready by tomorrow. At 1400 hours, you will depart for Camp Albion then join the men at Camp Tolkien."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Colonel West, I want you to set that airbase to Emergency Alert level 3. Keep those birds in the air and make sure that they keep an eye on the D-Brigade units. You must intimidate them for as long as possible. And if they dare to cross the border, you have my permission to bomb the shit out of them. Colonel Nako, Colonel Becker, I want your units deployed to the Sword Zone by tomorrow at dawn. Speed is key if we want to get the upper hand. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" They all replied in unison.

"Then we have a long day ahead of us, gentlemen. I'll contact the Ministry of Defense and request for our reserves to deploy as soon as possible. Oh and Colonel Legein, I want you to focus on tracking the insurgents' leader, he is very important for preventing this war, let's not lose him again."

"Will do, general."

 _September 18_ _th_ _2022, Camp Dawnstar._

Hundreds of soldiers were mobilizing for the next expedition. In the early hours of the morning, the town of Green Hill awoke with a startle by the rumbles and roars of dozens of armoured vehicles and tanks. The sheer number of vehicles was enough to shake the whole town, shortly followed by a wave of large transport aircrafts, their shadows looming over the population.

The mayor tried helplessly to maintain order but even he doesn't know what was going on with this sudden deployment of troops. For what he knows, there wasn't a conflict going on in the region.

The digimon would then be surprised once again by a large wave of helicopters in the afternoon, scattered across the sky and distorting all noises with rapid whips in the air. Yamamoto refused to comment to the local newspaper, not wanting them to spread any information about the deployment that could reach to international level. But sooner or later, they'll figured it out; it was clear where the human soldiers were heading to and that meant that a war is about to spark.

He prayed it will not come to that. He has seen enough bloodshed as a company commander during the first expedition; the world doesn't need a repeat of that catastrophe.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey... I'm sincerely sorry for this EXTREMELY late update but a lot of stuff happened during this particular month. I'm going to keep this short and write a longer version on my profile. So it is with guilt that I'm going on hiatus for a long period of time. That's because I'm going to enlist in the army very soon. I can't tell when (for obvious reasons) but I won't have the time (and my computer) to update any stories for a couple of months. BUT that doesn't mean that I'll abandon writing on FF, I'm having way too much fun for that. Anyways I want to thank you all for reading this and to those that reviewed, favourited and followed this and my other stories, it means a lot to me :)**

 **But alas it is now my turn to write a new chapter in my life (heh, get it?) and hopefully I will survive bootcamp. A la prochaine!**


	9. The White Flash

Chapter 9:

The White Flash

 _September 28th 2022, undisclosed location, Metal Empire._

Marcus awoke suddenly by the soft rumbles of the C-130 Hercules. The cargo was dimly lit by red cabin lights, drowning the operators in a dark hue of red. The elite soldiers were checking their gear and weapon as Marcus took a glance at his wristwatch.

 _"0126 A.M., local time..."_ He thought groggily.

In ten minutes, he and the rest of Data Squad will drop deep in Metal Empire territory to track down one of the Weregarurumon X's top lieutenants. Another group of Japanese SF units were on standby in another country in case things went south during the operation. The squad's other support was a Predator drone currently circling above the AO and an AC-130 Spectre gunship, currently in preparation and refuelling.

Itami personally checked each operator, making sure that everyone was properly equipped and ready for the mission. This will be their toughest mission yet. Failure is not an option.

The cabin lights flashed in green three times – the operators immediately donned their NVGs – before flooding the cargo in total darkness. The rear ramp slowly opened, a wave of cool air and strong winds entered the aircraft. Behind his ballistic mask, he could feel the cool wind hitting him like a violent typhoon. His uniform did little to protect him from the harsh environment. Marcus steeled his mind and remained focus on the mission. He flexed his hands in an attempt to warm them up. He could barely hear his own breathing behind his rebreather, his ears were overwhelmed by the eerie and powerful howling wind.

 _"Two minutes,"_ He heard Itami announce through his headset.

Everyone stood up in unison. He readjusted his rifle's slings around him and fastened them thighly against his chest. He also fastened tightly his parachute bag and alert pack, a huge rucksack filled with clothing, equipment, ammunition and food and water for a 48-hour operation.

 _"One minute..."_

The operators wobbled toward the edge of the ramp and waited for the order to jump freely into the sea of darkness. His breathing was steady and calm. The adrenaline rush slowly surged through his veins. He glanced at his squadmates and gave them a thumbs up. They copied the gesture to him. The cabin light turned green. Itami sharply pointed at the abyss below his feet. The men stepped forward and dove into the empty night sky.

The hunt has begun.

* * *

Camp _Dawnstar, 0740 hours, South local time._

Special Agent Maki Himekawa calmly walked down the staircase that would lead her to the interrogation room. The corridor was poorly lit but she can spot a silhouette casually leaning against the wall, their phone's light flashing in the distance.

"Has he spoken yet?" She asked as she came toward the figure.

"Son of a bitch is tough but he won't last any longer," The figure, known as Special Agent Daigo Nishijima, replied with a shrug.

Next to him was a thick metallic door where she could faintly hear the sound of someone choking and water splashing on the cold concrete ground.

"Waterboarding, huh?" She mused with a sadistic grin.

"We figured that beating him up to a pulp and shock therapy wouldn't work, so we took the most effective method," Daigo explained as a matter-of-fact.

"And how long has he been resisting?"

"Oh, about twenty minutes,"

"Wow, incredible," She expressed frankly.

"Like I said, tough guy, but he won't any last longer. In fact, he will speak in three... two... on-"

"ALRIGHT I'LL TALK!" They heard MetalEtemon shout desperately through heavy breathing and coughing.

Daigo gazed at Maki with a triumphant smirk, "See?"

She simply shook her head and heavily knocked on the door, "That's enough, guys! I think he enjoyed his swim,"

She opened the door with Daigo following suit. The interrogation room was small and spartan; only a metal table and four folding chairs. Blood stains could be seen on one corner of the table and on the ground below a chair. The whole floor was wet. She grimaced as she made her way to the other side of the room. Four masked men – private military contractors employed by the CIA – hefted the beaten and exhausted MetalEtemon and roughly dragged him back to his seat. The two others cleaned up the messy corner and placed the wet cloth and buckets on another corner.

"Did you enjoy your morning swim?" Maki asked coldly.

The cyborg digimon slowed perked up, glaring at the woman with pure hatred. He spat on the desk at her direction. She casually shook her head and sighed softly.

"I'll skip the formal courtesy and let's get straight to the point. Where are the bombs?" Her tone was sharp and cold.

He continued to glare at her but remained silent.

"Who is supplying the terrorists with weapons?" She continued. Still no response. "Where is WereGarurumon X? Are there any infiltrators in the D-Brigade? What is your objective and who are you working for?"

No response. Daigo nodded at the two contractors that stood behind the prisonner. One of them swiftly struck him with a right hook before the second one forcefully slammed his head against the desk, denting it on impact. MetalEtemon groaned and hissed in pain, clutching his injured head.

"Just answer the questions and this will be over soon," Daigo persuaded him.

"Go to Hell..." MetalEtemon muttered dryly.

Daigo swiftly drew out his sidearm and pistol whip him across the cheek, adding another deep, bloody cut to the ape's face.

"Fuck!" He finally spoke louder, his only undamaged eye leering at Daigo.

"See? It wasn't so hard to speak up..." She took a seat and took out a notepad, "Now all I want are names and locations. Everything you know about, tell us and _maybe_ I'll spare you from further... afternoon activities,"

"Do you think I know anything about what the terrorists are doing?" He asked incredulously.

"We have enough evidence that proves that you are the main weapons supplier to the insurgents." Daigo replied coldly.

"So what? I'm just doing business, I don't give a damn about what they do,"

"So you are willing to profit off terrorists that are killing innocent digimon?" Maki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"One: they are _not_ terrorists, they are _rebels_. Two: it's a civil war out there, of course we are going to profit from that. Conflicts in general is the best period to thrive in the arms industry. And do not tell me that it isn't the same in the Real World."

Maki smirked, "I guess you're not wrong there?" She admitted sincerely, "But what do you mean by " _we_ "?"

"Well my company and my patron." He answered nonchalantly.

"Do you mean Weregarurumon X?"

"No he's my client. And besides, he doesn't have enough funds to commit all his operations. It is actually thanks to my investor that he was able to gain access to my products, manpower and other military-grade hardware."

"So who's your investor? Was it IceDevimon?" Maki pressed on, her patience running low.

"No, he is my liaison with my investor, but other than that, I have no clue who he or she is." MetalEtemon answered truthfully with a shrug.

"And despite making you gain some profit, you are still willing to snitch them out." Daigo commented with a frown.

The cyborg monkey smiled and leaned back on his chair, "What can I say? The rebels aren't that profitable. Though I'm still keeping in touch with the Metal Empire. You know what? I'm even willing to forgive you in exchange for your cooperation. I'm sure you humans are looking for some high-tech, grade-A, military hardware."

"So you are dealing with the Metal Empire as well?" Maki asked stoically, ignoring the digimon's trade offer.

"Of course, it is our biggest source of income, our number one client and in second place is the Republic of Node then the Royal Knights-"

"The Royal Knights?"

"Yeah, quite recently but they are more interested in our research and development department rather than our main products."

Daigo felt his phone vibrate in his trousers' pocket. He reach for it and looked at the call's notification. It was their boss, Riley. He quietly excused himself out of the room to answer the call, leaving Maki with the interrogation.

"So, if I do get this straight: you're currently trading with the terrorists, the Metal Empire and the Royal Knights?"

"Among many others, yes," MetalEtemon admitted casually.

"And how does your investor tie in all of this?" She asked curiously.

The digimon smiled and leaned forward, "They wanted a war, to bring chaos in the continent so that arms industries and private military companies may prosper. They are the ones responsible for this civil war and the rise of proxy wars in the Democratic Republic of Nexus!" He laughed hysterically for a moment before succumbing to the numbing pain in his face and stomach, "... ouch..."

"You know..." He continued, "I always do my research on my contacts before I make a deal with them. The funny thing is... I know absolutely nothing about my investor. Like a shadow, I simply can't find anything about them..." He stared at her, "Even if you torture me for many months, I still can't tell you a thing about them, and my intel is often on par with military standards, even better if I do say so myself,"

Maki raised an eyebrow at his vague statement, clearly confused which his smile grew wider, "Makes you wonder if they are even from this world..."

Something inside her sparked suddenly. Was it anger? Shock? Confusion? She couldn't tell it herself but anger quickly overtook her for sure, "Are you suggesting that a _human being_ is dealing with you? Residing in this world?"

"You do know that this _is_ the Digital World, right? You can access it by simply using your computers. This world breathes thanks to your activities behind those screens. Your species dumps thousands if not millions of terrabytes' worth of data every minute. Humans are, after all, our rightful creators. You should know how this works, Miss Himekawa."

She felt her blood run cold at that instant, "H-how do you know my name?"

"Let's just say that my investor, eventhough I do not personally know them, is always willing to trade information with me, of course if I continue my contribution in this civil war."

That was enough to convince her suspicions. Hypnos had been quite paranoid of an event when a human may communicate with the Digital World by accessing to their computer. Knowledge of that world is still foggy and vague to the general population, that is the entire planet Earth. But Hypnos itself cannot monitor the activity of seven billion human beings. It is just an impossible task to do. However Yamaki and a few of his colleagues knew that one day or another, someone will have access to the Digital World and may use it for their own personal benefit.

Daigo came back in the room and gazed at her. He looked visibly disturbed. He turned to the guards and nodded at them. Following his command, the private contractors hefted MetalEtemon off his chair and dragged him back to his prison cell. When the two agents were alone, he looked back at her.

"Just got an update from the TEAR operatives' interrogation. Riley wants us in her office asap. We're leaving for Japan in three days."

* * *

 _Undisclosed location, Metal Empire, 0347 AM, local time._

Rain poured heavily down on them for the past hour or so. The operators of Data Squad have reached their destination, a large harbour located ten klicks away from the town it belonged to.

After the raid at IceDevimon's compound, the SIRS (Special Intelligence and Reconnaissance Service) - the IDDF's surveillance and espionnage division - quickly got to work to decrypt every single piece of computer hardware, documents and hard drives the operators threw at them. In addition with the files and contact provided by the US Marines on site, the SIRS had a location and a name. Connecting the dots, the intel led them to this specific harbour.

For days drones surveyed the area, keeping a close eye on the site. Then something caught their attention. Two digimon, a Lucemon and an Astamon. Astamon was one of WereGarurumon's lieutenants, tasked with managing the terrorists' supply lines. Lucemon however was a mystery for the intelligence team. To them, he was only known as "Client #1" from what they've gathered from MetalEtemon's contact list and message history with his clients. Sure enough, that Lucemon was at the right time in the right place with the right person. Surely he couldn't be a simple missionary from the Religion of Light.

With the evidence all laid out to them, the Data Squad is sent in to intercept a "special package" before it gets in the wrong hands. That package would be a mini thermonuclear bomb, the same nuke the terrorists captured weeks ago during the Steelheilm massacre.

Sergeant "Akiba" Ishikawa pulled out a pair of bolt cutters and meticulously cut a hole in the fence just large enough for them to crouch under. Marcus was at the lead, his AAC Honey Badger pointed in the direction of the alleyway between two warehouses.

He spotted Team Bravo – led by Second Lieutenant "Rabbit" Horiuchi – making their way to a warehouse through the fence on a parallel alleyway. The two teams briefly acknowledged each other before resuming the mission.

 _"Alpha 0-1, this is Odin, how copy? Over."_

"Odin, this is Alpha 0-1. Loud and clear, over." Itami replied discreetly as they advanced along the warehouse to their left.

 _"0-1, be advised, "Juggernaut" is green and on standby in the air. It'll take them 32 mikes to reach your location. Over and out."_

"Copy that, Odin."

Reaching a door, Marcus halted the team's advance. He crouched down, raised an index up and tapped his helmet twice. Sergeant First Class "Saber" Chiba swiftly crouched run to the door, opposite to Marcus' side. He slowly nodded, signalling Saber to carefully try to open the door manually. With success it opened without a hitch.

 _"What is it with Digimon not locking their doors?"_ Marcus mused before leaning into the opening, his eyes scanning the dark corridor.

"Clear," He whispered and took point.

The team resumed their progress. Luckily for them, every mercenary employed by Astamon were either asleep or on guard duty in the pouring rain. Each digimon they've encountered in their path was eliminated without discrimination.

 _"Site Alpha, Ground floor clear,"_ Itami informed the other teams on site.

Each fireteam secured a warehouse before converging to the dock where the supposed package would be located at. However egressing from point A to point B would be hard since they'll be right in the open, exposed and with little cover against vertical positions. This meant that one moment or another, the pretense of stealth will vanish.

Making their way to the upper floor, the men stealthily swept through the black, empty corridor. A lighting strike rippled through the dark sky, flashing the whole corridor through the large, rectangular windows to their left. At the end of corridor was an opened door, leading through a long spacious room.

Swiftly, Marcus led the team. He halted their advance and took cover behind the wall just before the door. He could hear a couple of snorings and a radio station playing some classical music in the background. He side-stepped away from the door and carefully leaned in the room, weapon drawn up and the EO tech's holosight lined up for a shot. In his field of view, he spots two digimon, a Betsumon and a Flybeemon, sleeping on their folding chairs and their legs on the table. He signalled the team to move in. The operators swept in and discreetly eliminated the two drifting digimon with two shots each in the head.

"To all Uniforms, this is 0-1, status report. Over." Itami demanded while looked out the window, his eyes observed the various caravans and shipment containers on the dock.

Each team affirmed their designated position, including the sniper team whom now had visual on the dock, ready to provide fire support if necessary.

 _"0-1, this is 3-1, I have positive ID on primary HVT. He's currently making his way to your position, 200 meters."_ Sergeant 1st Class "Archer" Nakagawa reported with haste.

Truth be told, Astamon was walking hastilly toward his team's position with several terrorists following behind. Itami cursed under his breath and immediately told his men to prepare for combat.

"3-1, this is 0-1. You have green light to open fire. We're moving to phase 2 now."

Just as he sent the order, a digimon fell dead on the ground right in front of Astamon, who was merely fifty meters away from the warehouse. At that instant, hell broke loose and stealth was thrown out of the window. Itami's team fired through the windows at the remaining terrorists around Astamon.

The digimon drew out his Thompson and returned fire blindly before running away. The whole harbour was now on alert. Dozens of insurgents and mercenaries rushed out to confront the intruders, but still clueless where they came from. The sniper team did an excellent work to cause mayhem and confusion among the ranks.

"He's making a run for it!" Sergeant "Haru" Mizuhara shouted.

In response, Marcus broke down the remaining pieces of his shattered window and jumped out with a crash. His rear landed on the roof's flat and slippery surface just a meter below him. He slid down the roof and landed with a heavy grunt before taking cover. His teammates, though impressed, soon followed him.

"Only Damon-san can do that," Sergeant "Tom" Okada – the second sniper - commented with a side smirk as he saw it through the lens of his scope.

"Pff... he's a show-off," SFC. "Archer" replied dismissively.

"Heh, that might be true."

The Honey Badger cracked and snapped angrily with each round it fired. Marcus's aim was deftly set on a new target after each five-round burst. Bullets whizzed and buzzed by them, the operators responded with accurate and superior firepower. They pushed and weaved through the enemy line, progressing from cover-to-cover without missing a single beat. Despite being experienced and highly trained soldiers with the best equipment, the humans were outnumbered and they will soon lose the advantage.

"Changing mag!"Akiba shouted as he reloaded the modified SCAR-H.

Itami rose up and provided him cover fire. Marcus ran out of his cover and slid next to him, his back to his team leader while covering another angle. Mizuhara and Chiba were at another cover to their right, each covering one corner. The whole team was now pinned in the middle, with multiple hostiles closing in real fast. The other teams were in similar situations. First Lieutenant "Mozart" Kirimoto's team suffered two wounded: Corporal "Blue" Fujiwara had his right eye shot out and Sergeant First Class "Lancer" Sakurai took several gunshot wounds to his legs and back – though he was still in the fight, the M249 Para spat out lethal doses of hot lead.

Another terrorist rushed out of cover, prompting Marcus to directly set his aim after he just eliminated a Dobermon. Three shots sprung out of the suppressed weapon. The first and second shot hit the Troopmon's left arm, the last one struck their neck. A geyser of black blood spilled out of the wounds as the digimon lifelessly fell on the ground like a ragdoll.

He hadn't stop firing for the last ten minutes, minutes that felt like hours. Tangoes kept popping up left and right, forcing him to shift from one target to another in split seconds. At this rate, he feared that his squad will run out of ammo for both primary and secondary weapons. The same could be said for the snipers. They relentlessly took out one terrorist at a time, prioritising enemy leaders or those that went too close their squadmates. The terrorists dropped like flies but the special forces unit only had two snipers to take out dozens of hostiles digimon.

"AH!" Chiba yelled painfully, "...motherfucker!" A round exploded upon hitting the weapon's vertical foregrip, crushing his index and middle finger.

He rested the rifle's handgrip on his left forearm and used it as a stable platform. He angrily fired back at the terrorists, killing three in his furious assault. The operators stood their grounds, each fireteam had its own perimeter where they could gun down the incoming hostiles. Their new strategy was to bleed out the terrorists, meaning they must kill as many as possible before they do.

Another volley of bullets zipped by his side, prompting Marcus to lean back behind his cover. Amidst the sporatic firefight, he spotted Astamon making a run for the dock.

"HVT's getting away!" He shouted to Itami.

"Fuck! 3-1, this is 0-1. How copy? Over."

 _"0-1, 3-1. Loud and clear. Over."_

"Do you have visual on the HVT? Over."

 _"Affirmative, 0-1. HVT's retreating to warehouse Foxtrot, one-five-zero meters away from your position /Break/ Be advised, we cannot provide sniper cover once you egress there. We'll have to relocate to LZ Yankee for a better vantage point. ETA unknown. Over."_

"Copy that, 3-1. 0-1, out." He pulled the SCAR-H's charging handle and let it slap back into position. "Sledge! Up for a challenge?" He asked with a grin.

"Hell fuckin' yeah!" Marcus replied with juvenile enthusiasm.

"Alright. You're coming with me. We're going to make our way to Astamon right through 'em. You up for it?"

"I'll take the lead!"

"Then lead the way!"

With a toothy grin, Marcus rushed out of cover, fired at two other digimon before slamming a third one against a container. He swiveled around and fired three shots to the head. Itami was behind him, covering him as they progressed through enemy line. Of course, they had a guardian angel in the form of SFC. Nakagawa, keeping a watchful eye on them. His hawk-like gaze examined the battlefield for any potential threats that dared to close in on his brothers-in-arms.

Pushing forward, the duo managed to break the enemy line, leading the other operators toward the dock.

"I have visual on HVT!" Marcus yelled, picking up his pace. Astamon was just a hundred meters away from him. "He's in the warehouse!"

Suddenly a loud crack erupted in the air. On instinct, he dove to the side, hitting the mud with a splash.

"Contact! Second floor!" He heard Itami shout while he got back up to his feet.

Another shot rang out, this time a bullet zipped just by his feet. Alarmed and now exposed in the open, he sprinted to the warehouse, praying to whatever deity in this world for good luck. A third shot rang out and it seemed to have entirely miss him. Either it was intentional or not, he didn't care – he was alive and that was good enough for him. He ran up the steps to the front door and kicked it open. The rusty door collapsed by the sheer force it took. The brown-ish slab dropped on the floor with a resounding crash. Slowly and carefully, he scanned his perimeter as he progressed through the building. He was soon joined by "Akiba" and Itami. The trio observed their surroundings while the firefight went on outside in the background.

They halted at a long hallway with several doors on each side. At the very end of it was a staircase leading up to the catwalk and rooftop above them. Taking point, Marcus made sure that his footsteps were as quiet as possible while his eyes darted to every corner. He heard a door open to his immediate left. He shifted position and fired a three-round burst into the room. The body of a Hookmon unnaturally crumpled to the ground, blood oozing out of the wounds. Akiba fired a shot to the corpse's head for good measure.

Just as he was about to resume the team's progress, a dark silhouette rushed out of a room and fired at them blindly. The muzzle flash lit up the hallway while red strobes flew down the path. Marcus fell to the ground for the umpteenth time, brushing once again with Death. Akiba wasn't as lucky, taking a shot to the left shoulder.

Quickly, Marcus stood up and fired back at the retreating Astamon, all of the shots barely hit him, splintering wood planks and shattering red bricks.

"Ah...motherfucker!" Akiba swore under his breath while he nursed his own wound.

"You'll be alright, Ishikawa?" Itami asked worringly.

"I'll be fine, LT. You two go ahead and catch that bastard." The sergeant replied dryly.

"You heard him, lieutenant." Marcus said, snapping his team leader out of his trance.

The two operators moved on, quickening their pace but being extra careful of their environment. Reaching the first floor, they both spotted Astamon gunning it for the staircase to the catwalk. Without further hesitation and with a clear line of sight, Marcus opted to injure the digimon and put an end to this cat-and-mouse chase. He lined up the red dot of his Eotech with Astamon's rear and pulled the trigger twice. Two, consecutive and quiet _snaps_ echoed before a loud and painful scream resonated through out the warehouse.

"Jesus Christ, Sledge! You could've killed him!" Itami scolded him once they found the HVT. He was certaintly unhappy and angry that he would take such a risk... and without _his_ permission or guidance.

"Relax, LT. I know where to shoot. It isn't my first time doing this." Marcus answered nonchalantly, trying to reassure his team leader. But from the disapproving scowl he got, it didn't work.

"Who the fuck shoots someone in the ASS?!" Astamon shouted angrily at them. Although he received a bullet behind the right thigh, the last shot in the right butt cheek was as much painful as it was surprising.

"Just fucking cuff him, Sledge..." Itami ordered with a sigh, "Odin, this is Alpha 0-1, primary HVT's secured. Requesting a medical team once we RTB. We had, uh... an accident during the mission that resulted with the HVT being injured on the right thigh and rear. How copy? Over."

 _"Odin copies all. Interrogative: how the fuck is that an accident? Over."_

"I, uh, I'll give more details during the debrief. Over and out." The officer let out another sigh and glared at Marcus, "If I get my ass chewed on, I'll personally boot yours up to Kingdom Come."

Marcus smiled and gave a thumbs up, "Roger that, LT."

 _Meanwhile..._

"Argh! Fuck!" SFC. "Saber" hissed while Sergeant "Haru" Mizuhara wrapped the field dressing around the blown up fingers.

The rest of the squad managed to drive off the insurgents and have taken out the sniper on the rooftop. Unfortunately, they lost one of their own when the first shots erupted. Corporal Hiroshi "Specialist" Ishihara – in his effort to guide the wounded CPL. Fujiwara to cover – was shot four times: two through the back, one to the left kneecap and the last shot through his windpipes. He died with his sidearm in hand, trying to crawl back to his friends while returning fire. The last shot blew through his neck with a golf-size hole. It was another painful lost for Data Squad and they feared that with the upcoming operations, more will pay the ultimate price.

"And done," Mizuhara announced nonchalantly.

"Thanks, brother," Saber replied with a sigh.

Mizuhara nodded and picked up his HK417 rifle, peeking in the ejection port to assure that the round was properly chambered in. He turned around to witness Itami, Akiba and Marcus walking out of the building with Astamon in tow, hands binded behind his back.

"Haru! Come and give us a hand over here!" First Lieutenant Kirimoto ordered as he and his team made their way to the dock.

Quietly, he jogged and joined them to clear and secure the small building. The operators lined up against the wall and slowly walked to the front entrance door, weapons drawn up. At the head of the column was Corporal "Kazu" Miyake from Team 3; in second position was the team leader and in third position was himself. Spotting a window right next to the door, Kazu ducked and rapidly dashed to the other side of the door. Kirimoto crouched down and set himself just under the window while Mizuhara kept an eye open in the building. It was simply too dark for him to distinguish anything in that building. Wordlessly, the men flipped down their NVGs and prepared to breach in.

Kazu gently placed a breaching tape on the doorknob's side of the door and took four steps back. The others took their distances and waited for the signal. He nodded and pressed down the detonator. A loud _boom_ shattered the tense silence. The operators rushed in and through the smoke. There was a brief exchange of fire between the human elite soldiers and the few handful surviving insurgents. Once the threats were neutralized, the operators pressed on and progressed through a corridor. There were two closed rooms at end of the corridor on each side. The fireteam decided to breach the rooms simultaneously. Plastic breaching charges were taped to the doors and once again, they repeated the standard proccedure of breaching-and-clearing.

Two more explosions rocked the building, a thick smoke cloud filled the corridor. Mizuhara was at the head of the small group tasked with securing the door to the left. Swiftly, he scanned his angles, his rifle sweeping across the room, eyes focused behind the gunsight. The special night vision flashlight allowed him to see clearly in the dark while those who weren't equipped with NVGs would see nothing. He stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes laid on a young digimon, pratically a kid... and an angel. The digimon seemed to be completely terrifed and looked absolutely lost, having no clue that a man twice his size was currently pointing a rifle at his head.

For a brief second, he felt sorry for the digimon but it was soon replaced with determination once he recognized the digimon's form. It was a Lucemon, the second High-Value Target.

"Down on the ground and hands behind your head! Now!" He shouted sternly.

Lucemon's face contorted with a mixture of fear and confusion. He followed the man's orders and lied flatly on the ground, his hands behind his head and shaking in fear.

"Please don't shoot me! I have nothing do to with them!"

Mizuhara ignored the digimon's pleas while Kazu walked past and binded the angelic teenager with a flexi-cuff.

"Room clear! Secondary target secured!" He yelled at the others.

"Copy! Room to the right clear! This place is fucking empty!" Kirimoto replied in frustration. "0-1, this is 2-1. We've secured the docks, it is a bust."

 _"Uh, copy that. Regroup to us and- Fuck! Contact right!"_

Sporatic gunshots erupted behind, prompting the operators to exfiltrate the building and escorting Lucemon with the rest of the squad as quickly as possible. Mizuhara could hear his squadmates' frantic screaming through his headset, unnerving him.

 _"Where the fuck did they come from?!"_

 _"My twelve! My twelve! Infantry!"_

 _"Crap! We're dealing with special forces!"_ He heard Marcus shout. He felt a cold shiver down his spine while his guts tied into multiple knots.

D-Brigade spec ops were now dropping on them – and it could get ugly fast. Finally regrouping with the rest of the squad, Itami decided that a tactical retreat was the best option. No one protested. The sniper team did what they could to provide cover fire but there were simply too many targets, in addition of being smart and trained targets.

The squad's plan was to egress to their secondary extraction point. It was a risky landing zone since the helicopters would be much exposed to incoming fire and they were closer to the harbor and town. That said, it was located at a steep rocky hill, allowing the operators the high ground and so protecting the LZ would be easier.

Red strobes buzzed by him, the bullets sounded like a mass of angry bees rushing at them. Scratch that thought, it sounded more like a hornet's nest has been stirred and they were relentlessly chasing them. Itami threw a smoke grenade behind them, covering their retreat while Marcus, Corporal "Jack" Tsuda and Mizuhara briefly returned fire, suppressing the enemy soldiers.

The men had about 800 meters to join the LZ. Eight hundred meters of running across an open field while gunned down by a whole company of D-Brigade's special forces. The operators advanced methodically, one team provided cover fire while the two others ran fifty meters and returned fire. There was at least one team that covered the others' retreat, maintaining firepower while enabling themselves some breathing room to progress. Though a basic combat tactic, it was battle-proven and efficient.

Hostile operators were being eliminated left and right thanks to the sniper team and the ground teams. Once making the top of the hill, the operators spread and took cover behind the many large, white, grey-ish rocks that provided solid cover for the men. The Data Squad unleashed their fury, riposting and holding their ground with determination. Rockets, mortars and other energy based explosives were thrown at them, the enemy advancing closer and faster. They could pratically hear each other screaming orders and yelling insults.

 _Fffumph!_ Cried Fujiwara's grenade launcher, blasting away three enemy soldiers off the hill. Marcus lobbed a frag grenade over his rock. The hand grenade bounced off the ground and rolled down the side of the hill, toward the enemy. A deafening explosion boomed across the chaotic battlefield, followed by the wails and screams of the unfortunate targets.

"Lieutenant! Some air support would be fucking nice!" Ishikawa shouted.

"Working on it!" Itami yelled back. "Juggernaut! This is Alpha 0-1. Interrogative: where the fuck are you? Over." He asked urgently.

 _"Alpha 0-1, this is Juggernaut. We're approaching the AO, ETA: six mikes. Hang in there. Over."_

"You guys better bring Hell to those fuckers! I want one-oh-fives dropping hard on them. Out!"

Lying on the ground, he shifted on his back and glanced sideways, keeping a visual contact with the rest of the squad. He then spotted Second Lieutenant "Rabbit" Horiuchi a few meters away from him, a radio in hand while carefully poking his head out of cover.

"Horiuchi-san!" He informally called over to him, "What's the status with the QRF and extraction?"

"QRF is currently on its way, ETA ten mikes. Extraction has just taken off as we speak." He informed him.

"They can't be serious! They should've been in air with the QRF!" Saber said in frustration, "What the hell is taking them so long?" Horiuchi helplessly shrugged at him, further angering the operators.

"That's just fucking wonderful!" Tsuda bellowed before firing a salvo of white hot lead.

The men were getting outgunned and outnumbered. Ammunations were running low and the enemy crept closer to their position. Each minutes felt like an eternity has time passed as they desperately waited for air support. Fortunately, their call for help was answered by a rain of 105mm HE shells falling from the sky. The earth shook and shattered under the gunship's merciless barrage of 105mm and 75mm shells as well as 25mm heavy rounds.

The tide has turned in favor of the humans. The AC-130 brought Death upon the enemy force and wrecked the battlefield. Whole chunks of the earth was blown sky high, leaving large craters across the field. The men cheered estactically. The D-Brigade force was broken in half, trying to retreat and regroup back at the harbor; only to be cut down by the humans from the hill or the sky. Nothing would escape Juggernaut's sight.

"QRF's inbound!" Horiuchi shouted whilst pointing at the three Chinooks making their descent to the LZ.

"Extraction team should be close behind. Defend this position to the end, men!" Itami ordered his men sternly.

The enemy force concentrated their firepower on the arriving Chinooks. A storm of bullets scraped the helicopters, some managed to break through the glass without causing any casualty. The pilots of these big metal birds tried their best to avoid some of the incoming rounds. Landing the birds then retaking off will be difficult but they soldiered on. They had a mission to accomplish and it is their job to do so.

The first Chinook roughly slid on the ground. The SFGp operators rushed out and joined the Data Squad to defend the position. The helicopter soon took off and got away from the dangerous LZ, making U-turn later once things were less chaotic. The second bird had black smoke and sparks coming out of its tail end. It almost crashed to the ground but luckily the pilots managed to get a surprisingly soft landing.

The third helicopter, the farthest of the bunch, had become a priority target for the enemy. The operators on the ground knew quickly what would happen if nothing is done. They tried to grab the D-Brigade's attention back at them, but to no avail. More smoke and sparks came out of the front end of the bird. Through the comms, they learned that the co-pilot was killed and the pilot took a hit to his head. It looked like he had a hard time to control the massive helicopter as it came rapidly toward the field. Then several rockets flew at it. Out of the five rockets, the Chinook took a hit at its tail rotor, causing it to spiral out of control. Suddenly, an energy beam shot through the fuselage and blew it up near the LZ. It turned into a bright fireball of twisted metal pieces and corpses. All fifteen operators and the three crewmembers perished in that fireball.

"Bird down! I repeat: we have a bird down! Green 6 is down!" A SFGp radio operator reported.

 _"Alpha 0-1, this is Odin. Be advised: you have six hostile tanks inbound two klicks out, North North East. Out."_

"Christ..." Itami said, breathing heavily. He switched his comms to contact the air support. "Juggernaut, this is Alpha 0-1. How copy? Over."

 _"Five-by-five, 0-1, over."_

"New fire mission: I want one-oh-fives dropping at two klicks away from our position, North North East, five hostile tanks. Over."

 _"One-oh-fives dropping at North North East, two klicks from your position, five hostile tanks. Sending payload."_

The high explosive shells dropped from the sky with deafening whistles before pounding the earth with resonating explosions. The enemy soldiers refocused their fire on the hill, trying desperately to overcome the odds and charge through the barrages and volleys of bullets, shells and grenades. The firefight intensified by the second and soon escalated into a battle. Additional D-Brigade reinforcements were on their way with dozens of tanks and several platoons of conventional troops.

D-Brigade special forces were mere meters away from the human operators and closing in fast. Marcus' PDW clicked dry just as another Sealsdramon jumped out of cover. He swiftly switched to his sidearm and put four rounds into the digimon's chest. He looked through his plate carrier pouches for any magazines for his primary weapon but has found none. Cursing, he looked around for his teammates, getting a visual contact of their whereabouts.

"Extraction's inbound! Keep fighting!" Itami shouted as the sounds of rotorblades slicing through the air echoed behind them.

"Take down that bird!" Marcus heard a digimon shout down the hill.

He spun around and eliminated two others before reloading. He then noticed an enemy fireteam moving up to his left, two of them carried rocket launchers.

"Fuck! RPGs! Nine o'clock!" He cried out loud.

Several SFGp operators have spotted the fireteam and opened fire to pin it behind a small crater and bushes. Determined, the hostile operators pushed through and set up their rocket launchers, pointing up at the two incoming Blackhawks. Itami tried frantically to warn the pilots about the impending threat but he was too late. The two rockets flew up before the whole fireteam was eliminated. The front Blackhawk immediately exploded upon contact with the speeding rocket. The second helicopter veered to the side in an attempt to dodge the other munition. Having brushing with Death and receiving a storm of small arms fire, the remaining helicopter turned around and flew away from the LZ.

 _"LZ's too hot, 0-1. We can't risk a landing."_ Itami was told through the comms.

"Odin, this is Alpha 0-1. We just loss another bird. Requesting another LZ site ASAP!" The officer demanded urgently, "We've got multiple hostiles creeping up on us real fast and we're running out of ammo!Over!"

 _"Copy that, 0-1. Standby until we find another LZ. Hang in there, 0-1. Out."_

"Itami! Look out!"

He turned around and felt an enormous weight fall onto him. A strong metallic grip grasped his throat and pinned him against the ground. He perked up to see a Sealsdramon on him, dagger in hand and ready to strike him down. He barely caught the arm as it went down. All of the sudden, blood obscured his eyes, the digimon's weight just increased as it lifelessly fell forward.

"Crap!" He pushed the corpse to the side and wiped the blood off his face. "Thanks, Marcus!"

"Itami-san! What's the plan?" Asked Lieutenant Kirimoto.

"Fall back!" He suggested quickly.

"Fall back? Where to?" Corporal Tsuda asked loudly.

"The forest. Three o'clock, six hundred meters. We'll lose them in there." Itami replied after he spotted said forest to his right.

"Fall back! Fall back to the forest!"

The order was issued throughout the line. Itami quickly reported on the current situation to command before making his tactical retreat. Smoke and frag grenades were thrown down the hill to off-set their pursuers. In addition with escorting their wounded, the operators must escort their two prisonners, one of whom is a target to the D-Brigade. This only slowly their progress. The AC-130 gunship was running low on ammunition and fuel as the battle dragged on and more hostiles appeared. It was clear in everyone's minds that they've just started a war. If they do survive this encounter, then they'll know that their next missions will be more dangerous and tougher than ever before.

Armed with only a P226 pistol, Marcus tried his best to cover his squadmates while running across an open field with a useless weapon. Losing the high ground, the men had to run down the slope of the hill with the enemy now behind them in their previous spot, gunning them down. He could hear the bullets whizzing and zipping by him, even by his feet. The hot air of a speeding bullet that brushed his face made his blood run cold while the adrenaline in his veins increased in dose and speed. His heart rate drummed inside his head, sweat poured of his body while the acid in his exhausted legs caused him to slowly lose his balance on the rocky and uneven terrain.

A grenade blew up just a couple of feet behind him, the shockwave rippled through his muscles and bones. The force was enough to push him forward and make him roll down the rest of the way down. He rolled and slid down the hill ungracefully, and painfully not to mention. He felt every sharp rock that dug into or scraped at his flesh. His lungs were traumatised by the many impacts it took for only ten seconds; ten seconds that felt like an eternity.

Reaching the base of the hill, he groggily sat up, clearly dazed and disoriented. He felt a strong hand grasping his left arm and pulled him up, dragging him towards the forest. For some reason, his ears rang eerily. He couldn't hear the firefight and explosions that happened around him. He could only hear his own breathing and heart beating. He did however felt warm liquids trickling out of his nostrils and left ear. The liquid got into his mouth and he could taste the familiar metallic taste of blood. He spat it out and brushed off the man's hand, preferring to run on his own. He didn't know what the man said since everything around him was muffled.

Finally they've reached the forest's edge. Unfortunately, they had to leave the two corpses of their fallen brothers-in-arms. Anger and stress clouded Itami's mind, people were dying around him and he didn't have the control of the situation. Juggernaut had to pull back after taking several hits from mobile AA guns coming from the nearby town. Supposedly, two British attack jets should come in for a sweep attack and tactical bombing. That would only be available in ten minutes. He wasn't sure that his men will survive ten more minutes. As for extraction, the remaining Chinook and Blackhawk were willing to haul ass as many operators as they can at a clearing just a few more dozen meters.

"Come on! We're almost there!" He shouted at Corporal Miyake and Sergeant Okada, both were dragging Astamon by the arms. "Covering fire!" He ordered sternly.

The surviving operators fired back, trying their best to protect the stragglers. Enemy mortar fire began to drop. Plumes of dirt shot upwards around them and getting closer their position. The enemy mortars were trying to zero in their position. All of the sudden, a volley of tank shells slammed into the forest, destroying everything in the way. Everyone ducked and took cover, protecting their heads from the sharpnels and splinters.

"Hurry up!" He cried once more before diving for the ground.

He stared at them with his hands covering his ears. The enemy had them pinned, they were unable to win the fight. They were outnumbered and outgunned. Resistance was futile at this rate. He felt helpless and desperate. He was getting frustrated by the turn of events that led to this specific mess. This was their Hell now.

A mortar shell blew behind them. The trio fell simultaneously but quickly got back up, the two operators still dragging the prisonner despite the lack of cover fire. Then a pink mist bursted out of Astamon's throat. Shock was clearly written on their faces. They quickly let go of the dissipating corpse and ran like mad men toward the forest. Okada was shot multiple times in his back, he died before he could hit the ground. Miyake took a hit at his right kneecap, the bones were nothing but powder and a gory mushing mess. He fell beside while yelling in agony.

The officer soon grabbed him and dragged him away from the incoming rounds. "Keep moving! Get to that clearing! NOW!" He yelled angrily, prompting the others to run faster.

 _"Alpha 0-1, this is Green 4, we're at the LZ. We will leave in five mikes. With or without you."_ The Chinook's pilot buzzed him through the comms.

"Five minutes! We have five minutes!" He shouted at the top of his lungs while carrying Miyake over his shoulders.

Like the others, he was exhausted, out of breath and started to lose control and balance over his own body. Only the adrenaline rush was able to boost him up through the storm of bullets and shells. Strong winds washed over him as he approached the Chinook. All of the wounded were already in, with the QRF taking their seats.

Gently and carefully, he set Miyake down for the QRF to pick him up. Horiuchi's team embarked in the huge helicopter before it ran out of space. Kirimoto's and Itami's remaining soldiers formed a defensive line and held their grounds while they anxiously waited for the Blackhawk to land. They could faintly hear the footsteps and shouts of their enemies, chasing them through the woods with steely determination and murderous hunger. There were six men against an entire army to defend and hold a small piece of land.

"Contact!" Marcus yelled as the Blackhawk descended into the clearing.

"Hold your ground!" Kirimoto shouted courageously.

The first round zipped by Itami's side. He returned fire, his SCAR-H barking furiously as it spat out 7.62mm rounds into enemy targets. His gaze behind the holographic sight, he picked off one target at time, restricting himself to semi-automatic fire to conserve his ammo. Only body shots counted, enough to neutralize the threat. He would fire two or three rounds in quick successions. He was able to take out a target then switch to another quickly.

 _Click, click_

"Crap," He swore under his breath, "Reloading!"

He threw the empty magazine at the ground and slapped in his last mag in. He pulled the charging handle back and let it slap into position, chambering a round. Tsuda's Mk. 48 machine gun roared louder than the helicopter's rotorblades as it finally touched ground.

"Nakagawa, Kirimoto! GO!" Itami shouted at them. Relunctantly, they left their position and ran back to the helicopter. "Tsuda!"

"Ryoukai!" The heavy weapons specialist replied.

"Marcus! Take Lucemon and g-AAAH!"

He fell on his back, a searing sharp pain shot through his left shoulder. He tried to move it but it sent more numbing pain through his whole body. Another round hit his right shin, shattering the bone into pieces. A wail of pain screamed out of his mouth. He drew out his pistol and blindly fired into the woods. Pain overrode his system, he felt a third round shooting through his right foot. He hissed and panted heavily. He could hear the Blackhawk flying away, probably because now it was too dangerous for it to stay any longer. He only hoped that everyone made it out alive.

A final bullet lodged itself into his right forearm, disarming him for good. He tiredly looked up in defiance and watched silently as more and more D-Brigade operators approaching, combing the clearing before a group of them surrounded and knocked him out with the butt of a rifle.

* * *

"Keep going! Come on!" Marcus shouted in frustration while he pulled Lucemon closer to him.

Running beside them were Mizuhara and Master Sergeant "Doc" Park, all of whom didn't get the chance to ride in the Blackhawk. It was too dangerous for the pilots to stay a second longer and so had to make an emergency take-off. Leaving three operators and a prisonner in their own in the woods. In other words, they told them "good luck and fuck off".

"But I know a w-way out! If you w-would just listen to ME!" Lucemon argued while trying to fight back Marcus' rough tugging.

"Bullshit!" Mizuhara shot at him.

"No really! There's an abbey not far from here!" The angel digimon explained hurriedly.

They all stopped in their tracks and glanced at each other. Park and Mizuhara came to the same conclusion and nodded at Marcus. _"What was left to lose?"_ was the message he got from them. He groaned angrily and glared at Lucemon.

"If it turned out to be some trick, I'll kill you on the spot. Do we have a deal?"

"What?! NO! I don't want to die and I'm not lying!" Lucemon protested agitatedly.

"Just fucking guide us!" Mizuhara growled at him.

"Fine... this way."

After half an hour of hiding, running and avoiding the enemy's sight, they were finally out of the forest and making their way through a field of violets and tulips and what the humans have spotted to be a small abbey on top of a grassy mound. The early rays of the sun could be seen over the horizon, revealing more of the abbey's façade.

From a distance, the abbey looked simple in design. They were four big buildings and four smaller ones in between those buildings, probably acting as a connector or a corridor. The front building was the largest, with a belltower on top of it. The roof was made out of black slates while the stones were a mix of brown-ish, white-ish colour. A little ways behind the abbey they could spot what seemed to be a graveyard – a rare sight indeed in the Digital World – with a big stone cross, similar in the Real World, at its entrance.

"Is this the place?" Park asked Lucemon in a whisper, still on high alert.

"Yes, that was where I rested for a week before coming to the harbour." He explained quietly.

"Yeah, actually, why did come to the harbour, hmm? Despite the fact it was crawling with terrorists." Marcus inquired inquisitively.

"Listen, I have nothing do to with them. I swear to God. I was on a mission and it was my duty to deliver a prayer to a follower upon request." The digimon explained defensively. "I'm not a soldier, I'm just a missionary and a scribe, doing my work and ignoring the politics of the world."

"So what? That Astamon bastard wanted to confess or something?" Marcus asked incredulously.

"In short, kind of. Look I'll explain more once we're in safety. I promise you that I'll tell you the whole truth."

He remained silent along the way. Upon reaching the abbey's front doors, the operators formed a perimeter around Lucemon while he makes contact with the abbey's occupants. The doors were large and tall, made from thick oak planks, it gave off an imposing sight. It was adorned with many black iron dots and slates to keep it intact. Lucemon grabbed onto the iron handle and slammed it against the wood's thick surface three times. The loud pounding made the operators sweat, it was loud enough to attract anyone's attention in this open field. They waited and waited for several minutes before he knocked on the door a second time. Again, they waited for several more minutes.

"The fuck is taking them so long?" Mizuhara hissed impatiently.

"Maybe it's because they weren't expecting visit this early in the day." Lucemon defended strongly.

"Whatever, man..."

"By the way, can one of you guys get me off these binds?"

Marcus grunted and took his combat and cut the zip cuff open. He threw the plastic away and returned to his position.

"Thank you." Lucemon said sincerely.

Finally the door creaked open and a cranky and tired Taomon poked her head out, glaring at the digimon who dared to wake her up at this time of the day.

"Do you have any idea what time it i- oh! Lucemon? Already back?" Taomon asked genuinely surprised to see her fellow scribe so soon, "What are you doing here? And-" She looked past him and her mouth hung open in shock, "w-w-what-"

"Listen, Taomon, I need you to let us in now. We're being pursued by the D-Brigade and these men need some place to hide for awhile." He explained quickly, wanting to avoid as soon as possible Taomon's outburst, "I promise I'll explain everything to Abbess Kuzuhamon."

"B-b-b-ut-"

"Ma'am, we seriously need your help." Marcus pleaded in a serious tone, "We do not mean any harm, alright? We won't stay here for long, we just need to find our way back home. We're the good guys, see?" He informed her while showing the IDDF shoulder patch.

She then shifted her eyes back at Lucemon, this time narrowing down to a glare behind her large round glasses. "Oh, you owe me big time for this." She warned him before fully opening the door to let them in.

* * *

September _28th 2022, Outpost "Hill 41", Red Line border, Sword Zone._

Hongo's men have just arrived at their new post and started to unpack their equipment. The platoon leader and Master Sergeant Okitsu – whom made a full recovery from his injuries – walked along the outpost's perimeter to observe their surroundings and inspect the base's defensive capabilities. From Okitsu's deep frown, it wasn't good nor up to military standards.

"This outpost is a fucking joke," The senior sergeant commented disapprovingly.

"Agreed..." Hongo lightly kicked at the knee high sandbag wall that surrounded the outpost, "We may have a vantage point but that doesn't explain the poor defenses,"

"Poor is being nice, sir. It's shit, below any standards and a fucking mockery!" Okitsu berated, getting furious by the second, "The bastards shot behind our backs and now expect us, a single platoon of rookies, to defend this goddamn outpost?! This is madness, Lieutenant."

Hongo simply shook his head, agreeing with the platoon sergeant's words, "Unfortunately we are not quite in a position to make any refusals or suggestions, Master Sergeant."

"Umph... Right, as if sending additional troops will ever make them change their stupid minds..."

The two looked up as the distant roars of four Tornado GR4s from the RAF zoomed just past the outpost. Since last week, air patrols from the British have become more frequent in an attempt to dissuade the D-Brigade from ever making a move on the Sword Zone or her allies.

"Master Sergeant, once the men have finished unpacking their stuff, I want them to work on fortifying our perimeter..." He glanced around the outpost, "I want fire positions to our Northern, Western and Southern perimeters, leave the Eastern side as our escape route." He ordered.

"Where do you want us to place our vehicles?"

"I want one LAV on the East and the three others on the West. The rest should stay put on the South in case we need to evacuate quickly."

"Good call, Lieutenant. I'll see to it right away,"

Once the soldiers have unpacked their personal equipment, they lined up behind two transport trucks to receive their Personal Protective Equipment NBC suit and M40 field protective mask.

Since the knowledge that the Metal Empire has nuclear bombs and chemical weapons has become widespread, every personnel in the IDDF has been issued their NBC suit and protective mask. DSF and Sword Zone defense force logistics are still scrambling to get their NBC protective equipment sent to the "Red Line". With the added threat of chemical attacks and possible nuclear annihilation, stress and paranoia have spread among the ranks quite rapidly. Thankfully, the general population is still spared from that information; the government didn't want to cause total panic and show fear to the Metal Empire.

"Once you receive your NBC equipment, set them in your dorms and I want everyone digging fox holes and build more sandbags along the perimeter." Okitsu ordered sternly while walking along the line of soldiers, "I want two fireteams constantly on overwatch, thirty minutes rotations. If you see anything suspecious over the perimeter, report to your squad leader then to me. Is that CLEAR?"

"RYOUKAI!" They all shouted in unison.

"First terrorists, then nukes and now gaz attacks. Well ain't that just peachy," Ryo turned behind to meet Yanaka, "Are you enjoying your first deployment, hum?" He asked sarcastically.

The private chuckled dryly with a shake of his head, "Yes sir, I do,"

Ryo's smile widened, "Well that's great news! Now we can all enjoy our miserable death in the near future! What do you think it'll be, sergeant? Nukes dropping on our heads or painful and excrutiating death by gaz?" He asked Rika, standing in front of him.

"Will you shut up for once in your lifetime, Akiyama? Kami, you're getting worse than Yusa..."

The mentioned soldier, standing just behind Yanaka, leaned to the side and gazed at his squad leader questionably.

"The heck is that suppose to mean?"

"Come on, don't deny the fact that whenever we're doing nothing or it is too quiet, you're the first one to open that mouth of yours and get into trouble," Rika replied with a frown.

"oh, in that case, I agree with the sergeant, you are sounding more like me," The grenadier replied.

Ryo showed him the middle finger, "Shove this one up your ass,"

After receiving their NBC package, the Japanese soldiers quickly got to work to fortify the outpost's defenses. Fox holes were being dug in and sandbags piled on each other to build a higher and thicker wall. The vehicles drove to their appropriated positions and a dozen of soldiers were on guard duty.

By 1700 hours, the base's defenses were on a moderate level and the soldiers could finally take a break. Combat rations were being distributed among the ranks, chit-chat arose among the men as they relax and enjoy their well deserved break.

Rika planted the entrenching tool into the pile of dirt next to her and ungracefully sat in the fox hole with Nanjo and Hamano beside her. The sharpshooter was patiently cooking his meal while Nanjo meekly nimbled her salty crackers while waiting for her soup to be ready. Rika wiped away the sweat and grime on her forehead, only to realise she added more dirt on her face. Her standard issue vest and tee-shirt has been tossed aside for a khaki tank top. Of course, her rifle, handgun and plate carrier were in her field of vision, losing one of them would only mean painful hours of report. God, she hated those with a passion. She'd rather take Ryo's flirting than those, and that's saying much.

She placed her canned meal on the small support and lit up the gaz. A small fire heated under the can while she ate the cereal crackers to pass the time. She rummaged through her MRE box to find several cereal bars, a small can of white cheese, another can of chocolate fudge and two energy bars. She took the bars and shoved them in her pockets. She took the dessert and kissed it with relief. Then she took the cheese and salty crackers and looked around for a potential trader.

Indeed MREs is also a soldier's experience with trade. One must be smart to have the most benefit during the trade. There isn't actually a based or real stratagem behind the MRE trading business, you just need the right vic- _client_ with the right product.

"Man, I'm starting to miss our camp's mess hall," Nanjo complained, "At least it has decent food over there compared to this or the digimon's mess hall." She pouted and looked at her squad leader, "How long are we suppose to stay here, sergeant?"

"Two weeks, maybe a whole month or two," Rika answered nonchalantly, "Depends on the situation."

"Hehh? That long?" Nanjo released an exasperated sigh, "Should've stayed in the secretary when I got the chance."

"Then why bother with infantry in the first place, Nanjo-san?" Hamano asked incredulously. "Clearly you fucked up somewhere in your career."

"It wasn't my _fault_. They put me in infantry by mistake. I signed up for a desk job!" She replied with frown.

"And what was your second option?" Rika asked curiously.

"Logistics..."

"And do you have a driver's license before?" The private slowly shook her head. "Then that's why they put you in infantry." Rika concluded with a shrug.

"They could've at least assign me in the cavalry, that would've been fun."

"Tsk, sucks to be you..." Hamano muttered dryly.

"Sergeant!" Rika heard Ryo call her urgently.

"Over here!" She replied while waving an arm up.

She turned around to see Ryo, fully equipped for guard duty, jogging toward her with worry. Alarmed, she stood up and began to put on her tee-shirt and vest. She knew that it meant bad news.

"Sergeant! I've spotted four D-Brigade scouts, west of our position at six hundred meters, all foot mobiles. They're closing in as we speak." Ryo reported dutifully.

"Where's Uchida?" Rika asked as she donned her plate carrier. The two other soldiers in her foxhole started to equip themselves.

"Keeping an eye on them." He answered quickly.

She picked up her helmet and rifle and followed Ryo in a light jog. The commotion was enough to inform th other soldiers that trouble was coming, thus the chit-chat died instantly and they began to equip for combat. Coming up to the sandbag wall, she noticed Private Uchida on his knees and leaning onto the sandbags, aiming down the slope of the hill.

"Status report, Uchida!" She demanded seriously.

"Four armed foot mobiles, at five hundred meters to my eleven. They're oogling us, sergeant." He responded with a frown.

Ryo handed her the binoculars before she stood behind Uchida and observed the designated spot. As described, there were three Commandramon and a Sealsdramon. The team leader was looking directly back at her, examinating the outpost. The digimon then turned to a radio operator and talked through the communication device. Sensing something wrong, she sent Ryo to report to Lieutenant Hongo at once.

"Don't like the look of this, sergeant," Uchida admitted.

"So do I, Uchida, but we can't do anything for the moment." She explained to him.

"Can't we fire a warning shot or make contact with them?" Hamano asked from behind, his HK417's sight was on the scout party.

"Negative. That's not part of our protocol for now. Can't risk to start a war over a misunderstanding."

Through the binoculars, the Sealsdramon issued out an order and the others quickly dropped to the ground, still observing the Japanese soldiers that now manned up the defense. At first faintly, they could hear the distant roars of jets coming toward them. She thought that they were the sounds of British aircrafts before she spotted three black dots over the horizon.

"Three birds to our two o'clock! Inbound West due East!" A soldier shouted out loud.

She shifted her focus on those aircrafts. From the silhouettes they weren't human aircrafts, they were aerial digimon, Pteranomon in fact. They were the Digimon's equivalent to an A-10 "Warthog", fear and venerated depending on the situation.

"Digimon aircrafts! Fast movers!" She announced loudly.

The digimon suddenly veered to the side and flew toward their direction. She squinted her eyes behind the binoculars, trying to figure out their intentions. As they drew nearer, the soldiers were becoming apprehensive.

"Are those friendlies?" One hushed concernly.

"No idea, dude," Another replied warily.

Tight knots were formed in her guts while a chilling sensation went down her spine. Her heartbeat raced and she felt sweat pouring down her face. She felt nervous and her fight-or-flight instincts were kicking in. Those were clear signs that something was very wrong and the military usually taught them to trust their instincts. And those instincts were often right. The three unknown digimon started to pitch upward and increased in speed. Her eyes went wide open.

"Fuck! Hostiles, INCOMING!" She warned with a powerful yell.

"Spread out! Spread out!"

"Into your foxholes!"

Everyone acted quickly. The Japanese soldiers picked up their equipment and weapons and ran for the nearest cover. The vehicles' engines roared to life and turret gunners manned their posts. All weapons were aimed at the incoming aircrafts. The Pteranomon squadron reached their highest altitude before dipping their noses downward and zoomed toward the human outpost. Their screeches grew louder and louder. Lieutenant Hongo ordered an immediate overwhelming fire.

On command, all guns opened up, riddling the orange-hued sky with green and red tracer rounds. A storm of bullets soared at the incoming Pteranomon, managing to break their attack formation and forcing them to act independently. This allowed for anti-air specialists to focus on each target at the same time with a reduced risk of getting hit. That percentage of risk was relative.

The digimon at the head of the formation was the first one out of the fight. Taking the full might of the incoming rounds, bright sparks and black mists shot out of its body before blowing up into a fireball of black smoke and data particles. The two other aircrafts returned fire frantically, releasing their bombs before their intended target. The bombs plummeted from the sky with a hollow whistle. The ground shook violently as tall fire walls spread out in front of the outpost, three hundred meters away from the humans.

The remaining Pteranomon dodged the bullets and pulled out evasive maneuvers to circle around the defensive perimeter. Outpacing the soldiers on the ground, the digimon nose dived once more and launched a barrage of missiles in response. Everyone dove to the ground and held onto Hope that they weren't hit. Large chunks of the ground tore up and shot upward. One LAV and two trucks were hit, exploding and burning into melting carcasses. A fox hole blew up, the four soldiers in it instantaneously perished.

The humans riposted with four guided anti-air rockets. Rika could see the four strokes of smoke following rapidly the two Pteranomon. Another series of hostile missiles pounded the outpost. Casualties were piling up. The wounded wailed and cried in agony, medics and some soldiers ran to their aid, doing their best to keep them alive in the chaotic battle. Hongo and radio specialists contacted Camp Tolkien frantically to request air support and medical evacuation as soon as possible.

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, Sword Zone._

Megaphones around the camp sounded the alarm. The whole camp was bustling with activity, soldiers, digimon and humans, ran, equipped and prepared themselves for combat deployment. Several outposts have been under attack throughout the Red Line, bombarded by D-Brigade air force and artillery or currently under sieged. It was an undeclared and unprovoked act of violence from the Metal Empire that violated the CNS's armistice. Thus war has been declared.

The Marines of Alpha company scrambled quickly to assemble at the company's improvised parade ground. The alert level was on maximum, meaning that time is of the essence to either reinforce other IDDF units or to immediately counter-attack the D-Brigade. Raymond rushed to the parade ground and quickly glanced at his Marines. He noticed that Sullivan and Porter where already reorganizing the company while he was away to receive his orders.

"Get them to the CH53s, now!" He yelled out loud. "We'll take 267, 310 and 290!" He informed them once he closed the gap between them.

On command, the whole company, and shortly after the whole battalion, mobilized to the camp's heliport where dozens of CH-53K King Stallions, CH-47 Chinooks, UH-1Y Venoms and AH-1Z Vipers waited to lift them off to the nearest battlefield. The JSDF already has some units deployed to the frontline however it wasn't enough to hold the enemy tide. DSF, Strike Force and Sword Zone forces were still lagging behind the humans' superior air mobility and ground logistics. The humans were too fast for them to keep up. Thankfully the firebases and air bases in the neighbouring states were able to provide fire support.

Raymond's Marines were tasked with reinforcing a platoon of JSDF located in an outpost at "Hill 41". From the latest reports he got mere seconds ago, things weren't looking great for the Japanese platoon. They were pinned down by hostile air support and mortar fire. In addition, a ground contigency of about five hundred soldiers, infantry and armour included, were currently advancing to their position. The Marines would need to hold them off as long as possible until the main IDDF force arrives.

Once he got the head count of his company and that they were all on board the helicopters, he gave the pilots the green light to lift off. The Chinook he was in jolted abruptly as it made its slow ascent, hovering off the ground before pitching its nose forward and swerve to the frontline. Looking outward of the massive helicopter, he could see the silhouette of Harmony City, the capital of the Sword Zone. The tall glass and steel, uniquely designed, skyscrapers lit up as the sun was setting under the horizon. Harmony City was the nearest major city to the camp, barely 80 klicks away from the dangerous border. He stared at the city for a few seconds before something extremely bright flashed and envelopped the whole settlement. Surprised and partially blinded by the glaring light, he covered his eyes with one hand and waited for several long moments.

"Holy shit..." A Lance Corporal muttered in disbelief.

A tense and heavy silence filled the cargo compartment. Raymond uncovered his eyes and returned his gaze to the city, only to be shocked by the massive and gigantic mushroom cloud that settled where the city once stood proudly seconds ago. Just like that, in a blink of an eye, Harmony City - with a population of over twelve million digimon – disappeared from the Digital World. Replacing it is now a desolate and burning ruins, envelopped in a thick dust and black smoke as it rained fire and radioation.

 _"To all units, this is Overlord. Code Black! I repeat: Code Black! Nuke has been detonated! Status report, Asap!"_

The war have started an hour ago, and already casualties were stacking up rapidly. Although at that time it wasn't clear if the Metal Empire launched the nuclear bomb or if it was a dirty bomb detonated by the terrorists, but the message was clear: war has begun.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Salut, long time no see! I'll keep this short so I have some news to share. The good news is that I finished bootcamp about a month or two so I can finally have some time to write my stories. Bad news is that I won't be able to keep up a regular update schedule. Anyways I'm happy to resume this story while doing soldier stuff. As always à la prochaine! :D**


	10. Devastation

Chapter 10:

Devastation

 _September 28th 2022, 0740 hours, local abbey, Metal Empire._

Marcus curiously watched as the Taomon who greeted his team into the abbey paced up and down the corridor while nervously gnawing at her claws. She, Lucemon and his team were summoned by the abbess earlier this morning. Taomon had to wake her superior up at about five in the morning to brief her about the situation. The humanoid fox soon learned that waking a Kuzuhamon early was a bad idea after the harsh lash out she took for breaking some of the abbey's security protocols, namely accepting soldiers into the religious domain.

It was now Lucemon's turn to be interrogated. He promised the operators that he'll do anything to negociate with Kuzuhamon to allow several days to stay in the abbey. Lucemon had been in that office for twenty minutes straight.

Meanwhile, the humans curiously looked around at the various decorations that was on display in the corridor. The rest of the abbey's occupants have already woken up and have already crossed the humans' path. Most of the nuns were cautious around the humans, keeping a close eye on them or they simply ignored them. The atmosphere was quite tense and hostile toward the humans, which is a complete contrast of the supposed calm and peace it should provide.

Finally, the office's door opened, revealing a tired and sheepish Lucemon. Taomon stopped in her tracks and stared at her fellow scribe with wide, hopeful eyes. He gave her a weak smile and turned to the humans.

"The abbess would like to have a few words with all of you. I'm managed to get ourselves a week of shelter, so you guys better enjoy your stay," He informed them tiredly. "I'm going to take breakfast with Taomon here, if you don't mind,"

"You've done quite enough bud, good work." Master Sergeant "Doc" Park replied gratefully, giving a small pat on the angel's shoulder before heading into the office with the two other operators following behind.

Marcus gave him a nod of approval before closing the door behind him. The room was quite small. At the very end of the room was a stained glass picture of Seraphimon ascending to the heavenly clouds with his holy sword pointed upward. His holy golden wings were spread out and formed a halo around him. Just below the beautiful art piece was a desk with a leather swivel chair. At the center of the room was a small coffee table with two beige couches facing each other. On opposite ends of the room were numerous bookshelves and dressers, the former being filled to the brim with books and scrolls.

Kuzuhamon stared at the humans with a heavy frown, arms crossed, brows furrowed and eyes narrowing, leaning against her desk. She hasn't donned her amethyst fox mask, revealing her fair, pale skin, silvery hair and striking red eyes.

Being the highest ranking member of the trio, Park was the first to formally salute her, the two others followed suit shortly after.

"Master Sergeant Park, IDDF Special Forces, Squad Delta." He presented the team stoically, intentionally lying about his unit.

"At ease, soldier..." She dryly responded with an eye roll, "First you come into my abbey in the middle of the night then you try to impress me with a salute?"

"That wasn't my intention, ma'am," Park replied calmly, "I'm just doing what I was taught when meeting a high ranking civilian." He explained, "And we're terribly sorry that you and your fellow nuns are drag-"

"You don't need to apologize, sergeant," The abbess cut in unpolitely, "It's already too late. I know how a war works. I'm only willing to let you and your men stay here for a week because I trust more humans to keep their end of the bargain than the D-Brigade. Besides we hate them as much as we hate conflicts."

"I understand that we're not suppose to be here-"

"Indeed you are correct, sergeant," She interrupted once again, her eyes hardening on the humans, "Like I said, it's too late. Do what you must do to return to your base and keep a low profile. I don't want trouble coming our way."

"Understood, ma'am." Park replied coldly.

"Very well... you may dismiss and get something to eat at our refectory..."

"The hell is a refectory?" Mizuhara whispered to Marcus.

"It's a mess hall...I think." He answered unsurely.

"I'll notify Taomon to prepare your rooms and inform Kyubimon, my chief of security, of your presence." Kuzuhamon informed them as a matter-of-factly.

"Chief of security?" Marcus asked out loud, "In an abbey?"

"Unfortunately it has become our norm recently since the terrorists have appeared. We did have a couple of our nuns and civilian contractors getting killed or kidnapped months ago. It is part of our protocols to employ local security contractors or to call in a Security Task Force from the Heavenly Choir when located in a dangerous environment. Sadly the Three Great Angels aren't really keen on deploying our own troops down unless it is very necessary."

"Very well, ma'am. We thank you for your generous hospitality." Park sincerely thanked with a curt bow.

"You are welcome, Sergeant. Now please leave, I have important matters to attend to." She replied dismissively, walking around her desk and taking a seat behind it.

The three operators respectfully saluted her and discreetly left the room. Once out of the office, they looked at each other.

"Now what?" Marcus asked.

"For now, we act low and rest up." Park replied in a serious tone. He glanced left and right of the corridor before he gestured the men closer, "We also need to keep a close eye on Lucemon. Whatever he says he is, he's still a HVT. Remember that. There's no way in hell I'm buying his cover story. We must have him in our grip and never let him go. He might have some crucial intel for all we know. Copy that?"

The two men nodded quietly, deep frowns donning their faces. Satisfied, Park nodded back at them and started to head towards the refectory. Marcus and Mizuhara followed suit shortly, feeling fatigue and hunger overtaking their bodies.

* * *

 _September 29th 2022, Camp Dawnstar's General Headquarters._

Last night's event shocked the whole world. The unprovoked attack of the Sword Zone and Harmony City's destruction by a nuclear bomb was a clear message for the CNS: it was a declaration of war from Fracture. In retaliation, more divisions of the DSF are being deployed to the frontline that was once the "Red Line". Consequently, the IDDF was at war as well with the Metal Empire.

In the war room, it was a chaotic mess. Dozens, if not hundreds, of radio communications flood in the room, troops on the ground demanded further reinforcements, air and ground support and supply runs. Most ground units already on the frontline tried to link up and communicate with DSF units and other allied forces but to no avail. Confusion was best summarized to describe the military communication catastrophe that happened before Yamamoto's very eyes.

He had already receive word that Data Squad was in a critical situation and the remaining survivors are returning from a failed mission. He also hasn't ignored the fact that three operators are now stranded behind enemy line, completely cut off from friendly forces.

While the humans were standing their grounds and fend off the invasion force, the Sword Zone's military was in the process to collapse due to the lack of competent leadership and the fact they've lost much of their government in Harmony City. Colonel Dorbickmon is, for the moment, the only high-ranking official competent enough to round up as many soldiers as possible to ward off the D-Brigade. However he has nothing in support. That task now falls in Yamamoto's hands and the DSF task force commander, Brigadier General Slayerdramon.

"What's the current status with the Sword Zone High Command?" He demanded stoically.

"Still no signal, general." An officer replied, "We're still trying to communicate with other high-ranking officials, but... I'm afraid they're either dead or have abandonned their post, sir."

"Damn it!" He swore angrily, "Never mind then, keep in contact with the Royal Knights and the DSF. And get our soldiers the support they need asap!"

"Sir yes sir!" They all replied.

"Sitrep in the air."

"RAF squadrons are still slowing down enemy bombers but are outnumbered. They're requesting additional reinforcements." Another officer answered.

"Contact the nearest air bases and get them in the air now. Deploy Predator drones if we must." He issued out the order, "Any progress on the ground?"

"Hostile forces have breached the Northern perimeter. A whole division is currently reaching for Camp Tolkien. ETA: twenty-four hours."

"Marines are still holding onto our Western perimeter but are taking serious casualties."

"Contact Colonel Sturnns and tell him to deploy his unit to the Northern perimeter." He ordered a messenger sternly.

"General! A call from Odin." A trooper informed him loudly, handing him a green satellite phone.

"Odin, this is Overlord. Status report?"

 _"Not good, Overlord. We still have four MIA and a HVT missing as well. We can't have eyes over there for risk of getting shot but we do have some locations that we may search."_ Captain Yuuki proposed.

"Negative, we can't afford a rescue op now. I need your men combat ready for more immediate missions." Yamamoto replied coldly, "As you may have guessed, the Metal Empire just declared war right after your operation. It is out of the question to risk your lives in the hopes of finding your men in a probable location."

 _"Are you ordering us to leave our men behind? Alone?"_ Yuuki asked harshly.

"That is not what I'm saying, captain. I just want a sure location instead of wild guesses." The general corrected diplomatically. "I'll have a team to scan the nearby locations before your deployment. I will give the greenlight and we will get them back, dead or alive, that you have my promise."

There was a short pause on the other end of the line until Yuuki responded bluntly with: _"Copy that, general."_

* * *

 _Outpost "Hill 41", Sword Zone._

"HIT THE DECK!"

A mortar shell fell just a hundred meters short of her foxhole. The ground quaked violently while rocks and dirt fell on her and her squadmates. Shaking the dirt off, Rika sat up and resume to open fire at the enemy soldiers that were crossing the no man's land.

With the arrival of a company of Marines, the Japanese platoon was able to hold off the first wave of enemy air strikes, mortars and foot soldiers. Throughout the night and later into the morning, the humans kept resisting no matter the harsh and brutal retaliation they took from the D-Brigade. They had the high ground and were deeply dug in, pushing them off that hill will be a difficult task for the enemy.

Unfortunately, the humans also lacked heavy support. All air assets were unavailable and the main armoured force are pushing through an enemy counter-attack up North. With a lack of coordination with the Sword Zone military, the humans are pretty much left alone to fight off an invasion force that was three times their size.

"Here they come!" A Marine yelled before the battlefield was filled with the roars of enemy soldiers rushing up the hill.

In response, the humans fired volleys of bullets and grenades at the enemy, decimating them. Rika put a new magazine in the feed, pulled the charging handle back and let it slide back in place, chambering a round. She shouldered her rifle and trained her red dot sight at a target. She pulled the trigger twice quickly, sending two rounds into a Commandramon's chest. The Type 21A1 rifle barked viciously, spewing out lead and taking out numerous targets. To her right was Hamano, the sharpshooter was calm and disciplined with the trigger, taking out his targets methodically and accurately. After each breath, he recited a short prayer in a whisper.

To her left was Nanjo, a complete opposite of Hamano. The young private was nervous and getting too trigger happy, ditching accuracy and poured as many rounds as possible while hoping to hit them. This made her waste her ammo quicker than expected. Not only that, her grip on her weapon was too crisp while she was breathing rapidly, almost hyperventalating.

"Nanjo!" The sergeant called out to her, "NANJO!" She snapped at her furiously. The private shakingly looked back at her squad leader, clearly scared and demoralised. "Remember your training! Pick a target, breathe, shoot, kill. Breathe, shoot, kill. Got it?" She nodded rapidly. "Come on! Fire your weapon!"

Nanjo followed her instructions and managed to cleanly take out three soldiers with body shots. "Yeah, that's it, sister!" Rika cheered at her, "Keep firing! Let them have it!"

Gaining more confident, she resumed to fire, gritting her teeth between each burst fire, getting more aggressive as she sees her targets crumpling to the ground like bloodied ragdolls.

"Warlord, this is Alpha-Lima. Requesting artillery support asap. Over." Raymond demanded loudly over the cacophony of gunfire and explosions.

 _"Alpha-Lima, this is War ***static*** ord. Call ***static*** gn Marau ***static*** er Zulu is availa- ***static*** for fir ***static*** sion. Over."_ Came the static reply of the battalion commander.

"Warlord, this is Alpha-Lima. Repeat last transmission from "callsign". Over."

 _"Ca ***static*** Marauder Z ***static*** lu is avai ***static*** for fire mis ***static*** -ver."_ Buzzed the reply.

"Copy that. Alpha-Lima, out." He turned to his radio transmitter, Corporal Kenneth "Kenny" Branagh, "Contact firebase Marauder Zulu and I want a fire mission on grids Mike 612 to Mike 625, five rounds, cluster munitions." He requested.

"Copy that, captain!" The Marine replied sharply and issued out his commands.

"Incoming!" A Marine cried frantically as several mortars could be spotted falling toward them.

Raymond tackled Branagh to the ground with him and covered their heads. The four mortar shells hit their marks. Sandbags and bodies flew up in pieces, cries of pain echoed throughout the sandbag wall. The remaining soldiers quickly regained their posts and riposted while the few combat medics worked tiredlessly to evacuate and treat the wounded in any shape or form with the minimal medical equipment they've got their hands on.

"You alright?" He asked Branagh who nodded shakingly in response, "Good, get back on your feet and contact that firebase. We're counting on you, kiddo," He said while giving a small tap on the Marine's helmet. "Oorah?"

"O-orah, captain..."

Satisfied, he joined his men in the foxholes, taking a position and proceeded to shoot at the wave of enemy infantry. More mortars and tank shells soared at the human outpost. The IDDF soldiers and Marines fought off valiently the second wave and held their grounds, but not for long. Emerging from the main road was another whole battalion charging at them, reinforcing the enemy troopers at the foot of the hill. Accompanying the battalion were three squadrons of heavy tanks barraging the hill with high explosive shells. Overwhelmed and quickly losing the firefight, an emergency evacuation had been issued by both the Marine captain and the Japanese platoon leader.

Under the cover fire of friendly artillery, the Japanese platoon quickly assembled their functioning vehicles and wounded. Lacking serious place and racing against time for the wounded to get proper medical attention, two squads of JGSDF troopers had to be left behind with the Marines in order to hold the outpost until a larger evacuation force, in the form of helicopters, arrives to extract the remaining defenders of the beaten and ruined outpost.

Rika watched solemnly at the retreating convoy. She has seen the faces and conditions of the wounded. Many were in bad shape, others were in critical conditions. Snapping herself out of her trance, she regrouped with her squad at the sandbag wall where the third enemy wave launched itself once again into the hail of bullets. Around her, she could see the dead bodies of her former brothers and sisters in arms; people she personally knew, trained with, befriended. Anger sparked from within her, a sudden rush adrenaline flowed into her veins as she was filled with determination and vengeance. Gripping her rifle tightly, she took a quick glance over the wall before she shouldered her weapon, pick a target and let loose her rage.

Beside her, Private Yanaka fired the MG5A2 in short, accurate bursts. Each set of rounds perforated a digimon's flesh or body armour, geysers or mists of blood flushed out of their bodies before hitting the muddied ground. To his left was Private Yasumoto, occasinally guiding and directing the light machine gunner's sight with small taps on the shoulders. To her right was the rest of her squad, all were still present and alive. Their uniforms and faces were as messy and grimey as herself. They've been through Hell for the past twenty-four or so hours. They've braved the initial air strikes and assault, and they've managed to hold the outpost despite severely lacking combat experience, understaffed and under equipped.

Despite taking huge losses, the D-Brigade's advance hasn't slowed down nor halted. The enemy soldiers pushed through the bullets, grenades and artillery cluster bombs the humans were throwing at them. Supported by mortars and tanks, the soldiers of the Metal Empire had no intention of retreating or backing down. That hill represented a real strategic value and they mean to take it and keep it in the name of their empire.

Facing an enemy with such steely and fanatical determination and vigour was enough for Raymond to conclude that this outpost was a lost cause. He is not willing to sacrifice more of his men for nothing. The best option for him and his Marines was to evacuate, regroup and fight another day.

The enemy crept closer, each step forward was a heavy cost for them but that didn't stop them. Undeterred, the D-Brigade forces pushed through and riposted with overwhelming firepower. The humans backed away, retreating deeper in the outpost. The towers and sandbags won't hold much longer. Raymond's final order was to obliterate everything that was infront of them with artillery, accepting the risk of danger close.

In a matter of seconds, high explosive and cluster artillery shells rained from above, pounding and decimating the enemy troops on the ground into bloody and gory pulps. Bodies were shreddered, limbs torn apart, mangled corpses shot upwards, showers of blood splattered on the ground. The humans held no mercy for the enemy. This was a fight for survival.

With bayonets fixed at the end of their barrels, the IDDF soldiers prepared themselves to meet the enemy in close quarters combat. The first surviving hostiles to have climbed over the top of the damaged sandbag wall were quickly gunned down. Behind vehicle carcasses and hastilly dug up foxholes, the humans waited for the next line of targets to pop up behind the first defensive line.

Rika had her red dot sight trained on the sandbags. She could see dark silhouettes darting left and right. Then they came. As soon as the first digimon showed itself, a volley of rounds shot out of rifles and machine guns. A fury of bullets swept across the horizon. Bodies dropped limply while a few wounded fell to the ground and wailed in pain. The survivors jumped over them and charged at the humans. Acquiring her target, she popped four rounds into a Sealsdramon before letting out a three-round burst at two Troopmon, killing one and wounding the other with the last shot puncturing their throat. She noticed a laying digimon just left of her peripheral view, slowly dragging toward a group of Marines. The digimon, a severely wounded Pawnchessmon, stood up and yelled madly, its right arm arched backwards and holding something in its hand.

Immediately realizing the impeding threat, she spun at it and raised her rifle, her sights set on it. In a split second, she fired two rapid shots at the small knight. The rounds easily perforated its badly damaged armour, eliminating it in an instant. Unfortunately, she was a second too late, as she eyed a small round object diverting from its original path and flew closer to her. The frag grenade bounced off the ground and rolled near Yasumoto's and Yanaka's cover.

"Grenade! Get down!" She cried out before she felt a strong heatwave washing over her. An invisible force knocked her feet off the ground.

Her ears were ringing deafeningly. It was a continuous, high-pitched ringing, muffling the outside world from her. Groggily, she sat up, completely oblivious of her surroundings. By her feet were two bodies. She identified them as Japanese soldiers due to their burnt up and dirty uniforms. As her training kicked in, she went for the nearest soldier to examine the damage he may have received. Lying on his side, she rolled him on his back and recognized him to be Yasumoto. The private was mostly unharmed except for the singed skin over his left arm. She tore at his uniform carefully, making sure that none of clothing was stuck to the skin and that no sharpnel went through him. Luckily for the private, he has sustained minor burns and cuts.

She turned to the second man, lying on his front. She rolled him over and gasped in shock and terror. The body belonged to Yanaka's, well what was left of him anyway. Most of his body had either being burnt or perforated by sharpnels. Half of his face was gone, the skin and flesh burnt to the bone. The skin tissue melted with the charred flesh, giving off a disgustingly charcoal coloring to his face. She wanted to throw up right then and there but she steeled through the horrible sight and the pungent stench.

"Medic! Medic!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, her coarse voice carrying out the message through the loud gunfire.

She looked around for a combat medic before hastilly taking cover in the foxhole. Enemy rounds impacted the dirt near her, some even flew mere centimeters above her helmet. She took out a frag grenade, pulled the pin and counted down to three. On 'three', she blindly lobbed it at the enemy's general direction. A short but loud explosion erupted by her position, bits of metallic shards zipped in every direction. She popped her head out and shouldered her rifle, two bursts spat out of the cannon and two digimon dropped dead in front of her.

She swirved her rifle to the right, taking aim at a Commandramon dragging a wounded Flamedramon. She coldly fired five rounds into the pair, both dropped lifelessly on the ground, pools of blood forming under their corpses. She continued with her merciless onslaught, a whole heap of empty cartridges piled up by her feet. The humans never ceased to open fire into the wave of hostiles that breached through their defenses. More soldiers and Marines fell, either dead or wounded, and little-by-little, the enemy gained more ground and slowly the upper hand.

All of the sudden, the earth shook violently around the outpost. More artillery shells pounded the opposition force, screams from the dying were drowned out by the chaotic and epic symphony of explosions. Then the skies were filled with the distinct screeches of chain guns. Two AH-64D Apaches swooped in and unleashed rains of 30mm pain. Hydra rockets soared out of the side pods, destroying light armoured targets and tanks. Coming in support were four Blackhawks, the soft electric whirs of the miniguns sent a satisfying shiver up her spine. Seeing the rounds plummeting and wiping out squads of targets was a thrilling sight and she wasn't the only one to show it.

Marines barked and cheered in delight, enjoying the fireworks before retaking the fight to the enemy, their morale boosted and eager to bring death to the fleeing D-Brigade troopers. While the attack and transport helicopters held the enemy at bay, two Chinooks rapidly descended and touched the ground.

"Evac's here! Hustle up, Marines! Get the wounded first then load up the bare minimum of equipment. Double time!" Raymond bellowed sternly.

It took the remaining defenders ten minutes to load up the wounded, collect the tags of the fallen, and pack up the minimum amount of equipment. Once everyone was on board, the helicopters were soon off the battlefield, leaving behind a destroyed and bloodied outpost. Shortly after their leave, a squadron of A-10 Warthogs bombarded the outpost and it surrounding vicinities, wiping it out of the grid.

* * *

The battle for Sword Zone raged on throughout the day and into the night. The coalition force lost ground quickly, each retreat was a painful loss in manpower. With no direct authority or governmental representative of the state, the CNS have designated ambassador Angewomon to lead the Sword Zone's civilian population. Cities and towns that were close the border were immediately evacuated either in neighbouring states or moved further inland. Meanwhile, the IDDF contingency present on the frontline is tasked with holding the D-Brigade invasion force for as long as possible until further DSF and Royal Knight reinforcements arrive. It was now a race against time, the survival of the Sword Zone depended on the human soldiers.

It started to rain heavily that night. Out in the distance, echoes of artillery cannons and fierce battles could be heard from Camp Tolkien. Through the light fog, one could even see fire and explosions on the horizon.

The camp hasn't stopped working since yesterday. Troops and supplies flew off the base toward the frontline while others came back broken, mentally and physically. Casualties were mounting at a drastic pace. The field hospital was already filled to the brim with gravely wounded soldiers, digimon and humans alike. The mess hall had to be turned into an improvised medical facility.

While the battle on the ground has become a bloody tug of war, the fight in the air was short lived for the Metal Empire. The humans were succesful with counter-attacking the D-Brigade's Air Corps and stopped the wave of bombers and attack jets, set to eradicate the coalition force on the ground. With air supremacy in their hands, the IDDF have launched a massive air campaign to bomb the enemy force to submission. Dozens of multi-role jets were accompagnied by attack drones, gunships and bombers. They were virtually unstoppable, and the D-Brigade knew that.

As now, Storm Commander Raijinmon is only one to lead the invasion force. The two other Storm Commanders were on their way to provide additional firepower and manpower. Duftmon have predicted that since Raijinmon have lost the fight in the air, he will be focusing his entire forces to one objective: Camp Tolkien.

The camp was a strategic and symbolic location. It was a well fortified and equipped facility that was close enough to the border, meaning that once the camp was captured, it will be a perfect FOB and supply point for the D-Brigade. It is up to the coalition force to stall the ground force long enough for the air force to cut the enemy's supply line. If succeeded, then Raijinmon's forces will crumble under pressure and lack of support.

This is where Alphamon's task force come to play. Alphamon and Examon will take command of a joint task force of Strike Force soldiers and US Marines. Their mission was to disrupt a D-Brigade supply line located up North in the border, where the fight seemed to get worst. The task force will be deployed in a heavily forested area of a valley where Metal Empire soldiers are forced to cross a long stone bridge, _Autumn's bridge_. The bridge was a historic and tactical point, it was one of the few bridges that connected easily and directly the Metal Empire with the Sword Zone through the mountaineous terrain of the "Red Line". It was extremely important when it comes to military logistics and troop movement.

Once the bridge is captured, the task force will hold it long enough to grab Raijinmon's attention and force him to divert his troops to the bridge. This should disrupt the invasion force's progress and allow the coalition to push through and reclaim the border.

At 2000 hours, the covert night operation began. Riding in Chinooks and Blackhawks, the Marines were being led by Alphamon's squadrons and accompagnied by two Apache helicopters. The Strike Force squadrons were made up of thirty aerial soldiers in total, all of whom were Ultimate or Mega level digimon. Under the cover of a moonless night, the helicopters flew across the vast hills and forests of the region. The soft rumbles of the rotors were muffled by the distant explosions and clashes.

Flying with no lights and with zero knowledge of the surrounding terrain, the pilots must follow the Royal Knights through their NVGs. Mikey casually looked around the Chinooks passenger compartment, glancing at his friends and fellow Marines as they mentally prepare themselves for a fight. Some of the Marines were nervous, feet or fingers tapping impatiently while having their eyes closed to gain some precious minutes of rest. Near the rear ramp sat his platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Browning, with the platoon sergeant, Staff Sergeant Beckers, facing him. Next to the platoon sergeant was the platoon's radio transmitter operator, Corporal James Bettz. The corporal had the radio close to his left ear, his eyes narrowed as if focusing on the transmission he was receiving. From the looks of it, Mikey assumed that James must've picked up enemy ICOM chatter through his radio; which was a rare exploit since Digimon and human radio communication systems work differently from one another.

Seeming alarmed, the radio transmitter reported the situation to the lieutenant. Browning frowned but gave him a nod and a light pat on the shoulder. He then took his radio and contacted the company commander.

 _"Alpha Lima, this is Alpha-1 Actual. How copy? Over."_ He heard the message buzz into the platoon's communications.

 _"Alpha-1 Actual, Alpha Lima. Loud but with some interference. Over."_ Raymond replied cooly.

 _"Alpha Lima, Alpha 1-Actual. Be advised: we've intercepted enemy ICOM chatter, suggesting that supply convoy is about to cross the bridge, ETA 90 mikes. We've estimated that there will heavy foot mobile and mechanized presence. /break/ I suggest that we land closer to catch up to them and set up an ambush in the forest. We'll get a better fire position and the high ground to take them out. Over."_

 _"Alpha 1-Actual, Alpha Lima. Copy that. I'll contact Romeo-Kilo Alpha and see if we can go by your plan. Excellent work. Over."_

 _"Alpha Lima, Alpha 1-Actual. Roger that. Out."_

After several long minutes of debating, Raymond received Alphamon's approval and ordered the pilots to go with the plan. Instead of landing at twenty klicks North East of the objective, Raymond wanted his company to land at ten kilometers directly East of the objective, so as to take advantage of the elevated, forested terrain and to quickly catch up to enemy supply convoy.

 _"Two minutes,"_ Announced the pilot.

 _"Two minutes,"_ Beckers repeated to the platoon.

Mikey let out a heavy breath and shifted in his seat. His right foot was tapping eagerly on the helicopter's metallic floor, mimicking his fellow Marines' habits. Like most of them, he was uncomfortable whenever they've got on a helicopter ride, especially for an operation. He was an infantryman, trained and used to fight on the ground, where he was in control and could fight back. Being in a helicopter meant that his life depended on the pilots' skills and reaction time while he was a sitting duck inside a flying metal coffin, stuffed in with other Marines like in a sardine can.

 _"One minute..."_

A rush of adrenaline ran into his veins. He checked his equipment for the fourth time, making sure that everything was in its right place. Magazines, grenades, first aid pouch, NBC mask... every piece of equipment was specifically attached to his plate carrier so that he could reach each piece of gear without much effort and wasting as less time as possible.

 _"Thirty Seconds..."_

Those last thirty seconds felt like an eternity. He could hear the trees violently swaying to the sides as the Chinook slowly descended. Once it touched ground, the ramp rolled down and the Marines sprung to action, rushing out of the helicopter and setting up a perimeter. Other Marines did the same thing after landing. Dust clouds and heavy rainfall obscured his vision through the NVG but he managed to get to his position and got on one knee, rifle shouldered and scanning the woodland that was in front of him.

After the helicopters took off and made their way back to base, the Marines began to advance toward their objective. In staggered formations, they progressed through the dense woods in total darkness, guided only by their night vision goggles. Silence reigned over the forest, apart from the leaves cracking, bushes swaying, branches snapping and the rain. The distant roars of jet engines and earth shattering _booms_ of artillery cannons resonated around them. Firefights and explosions echoed loudly, as if getting closer to them.

At a cautious and a tactical pace, the Marines finally reached destination in an hour and fifteen minutes. Each platoon spread out until they formed a "U" formation facing the bridge. Each platoon leader will then set each squad to their specific post to cover as much ground as possible as well as securing their perimeter.

The Marines were in place for overwatch, waiting patiently for Alphamon's "all clear" signal. Mikey was laying down, posted behind a tree and a small bush. To his ten o'clock, at about a hundred and fifty meters down the slope of the hill was the bridge. It was made of grey stone bricks, wide enough to allow two M1 Abrams tanks to cross side-by-side... well it was more of a tight fit but still possible.

His breath was slow and soft, heartbeat steady and eyes focused to his surroundings. Everyone was quiet. The cool wind blew gently that night, the trees swayed casually with the breeze. The soft patters of rainfall, hitting his uniform coldly, indicated that the rain was about to dissipate. Captain Raymond have made some attempts to contact the Royal Knights but to no avail. Either they were still patrolling or they were hiding from the enemy. About ten minutes later, a Marine spotted headlights coming in the distance.

 _"To all units, prepare for combat. Open fire only on my command."_ Raymond issued to the platoon leaders.

Muscles tensing and mind bracing for contact, Mikey readjusted the rifle's position and took aim behind the ACOG. He could hear the distinct hiss and whirs of engines and tank treads. Metallic footsteps could also be distinguished among the rumbles of machinery; they were steady and uniformed, following a certain rythm as if parading. Coming closer to view, he can spot two Tankdramon at the front, leading eight Tankmon and a whole company of infantry and cavalry troopers. Just as the Tankdramon made half way through the bridge, two loud _booms_ shattered the calm silence. Thick trails of smokes launched straight at the heavy tanks, exploding on impact. The loud explosions were soon accompanied by a chaotic symphony rifle and machine gun fire; the hills and forest flashed brightly by tracer rounds from the Marines. The battle for Autumn's bridge has begun.

* * *

 _Abbey Refuge, Metal Empire._

Pacing back and forth in the entrance hall like a nervous wreck was Taomon, unconsciouly gnawing at her right nails while her left hand grabbed onto her own tail like a blanket. Next to her was Kyubimon, the abbey's chief guard, looking out the window with a stoic gaze.

"What if they find out? What if I screw this up? W-what would happen to MY library?!" Taomon exclaimed nervously.

"Nothing would happen to us, Taomon-san," Kyubimon reassured her bluntly, "Just let me do the talking and you stay back and watch. That's it." He reminded her.

"B-b-but I can't just stand by the door!" She protested passionately.

"Sure you can... unless you want to start a bloodbath," He replied coldly, discreetly smirking.

"Wh- No! No, I don't want that!"

"Then let me handle the situation..." He shifted his gaze to the three humans standing behind her, "You guys are ready?"

"Yeah, just don't anything stupid." Mizuhara answereded bluntly.

"Relax, I won't." Kyubimon replied before he opened the abbey's door to meet the visitors.

Waiting outside the refuge was a Darkdramon, accompanied by a platoon of infantry soldiers, lined up behind the abbey's stone fence. Darkdramon stood patiently a few feet away from the doors. Upon seeing Kyubimon, the officer gave him a pleased smile.

"Good evening, sir. Commander Darkdramon of the 7th Infantry Regiment. I'm sorry to bo-"

"What do you want?" The four-legged fox asked coldly.

Slightly taken aback by the cold welcome, he cleared his throat and remained calm and diplomatic, "Don't worry, we won't be long but I'm afraid that we must search your abbey; it is of the utmost importance." He explained.

"Do you have a search warrant?"

"Search warrant? Well, no, but you-"

"Sorry..." Kyubimon cut him off again, "But if you don't have a search warrant, then it is in my rights to decline your demand."

"But we're not police officers, sir, we're soldiers of the D-Brigade." Darkdramon replied, irritated. "I'm pretty sure that does not apply to us."

"True," Kyubimon agreed, "But this is an abbey of the Religion of Light, a sacred place that does not belong to the Metal Empire. I know the empire's laws, commander, I was a student in Fracture's Bishopmon University."

"Fine," Darkdramon conceded, "We will return tomorrow with a search warrant. But if you see anything... suspicious. Don't hesitate to contact us." He informed the abbey's guardian, "They are dangerous individuals on the run and right now we're at war. So please be vigilant."

"We will, commander." Kyubimon promised.

"Good evening..."

The fox replied with a curt nod and returned to the abbey. Darkdramon stalled in his place for a few seconds longer, eyeing the retreating digimon and the nervous-looking Taomon that stood by the opened door. His eyes narrowed but he concluded nothing. He sighed and returned to his platoon, ordering them to move out.

Once they were in the clear, Kyubimon announced to the operators to come out. Taomon let out a breath of relief, wiping away a bead of sweat.

"Thank the Heavens they're gone..." She said gladly.

"Not for long," Kyubimon reminded her, "They'll come back tomorrow, and this time they'll have a search warrant."

"Damn it..." She responded with a face palm.

"I guess we better find a way out soon," Marcus suggested, stroking his chin.

"And how do you plan for us to do that?" Mizuhara retorted, "This place is crawling with D-Brigade soldiers, especially that now we're at war with them!"

"Are your comms still down?" The fox digimon asked them.

"Yeah, our radios won't work, we suspect that they've installed jammers around the area." Park replied with a frown.

"So what _can_ we do?" Marcus asked impatiently, "Crossing the border on foot is out of the question, when we're thousands of miles away from friendly lines."

"Maybe I can help," Kyubimon chimed in, gathering the men's attention. "Tomorrow we'll be at the town's marketplace to sell our produce. We can take you there in our carriages, undetected, early in the morning."

"So we can slip by the D-Brigade while they search this place." Marcus concluded.

"Exactly," Kyubimon nodded.

"Okay, but once we're in town, what do we do from there? Slip out of your carriages and continue on foot?" Mizuhara asked incredulously.

"No. I know a few contacts at the marketplace." The four-legged fox explained, "They can take you closer to the border and to the Dual Chess Monarchy from town to town. It should get you in range with your comms."

"How far are we from the border?" Park asked.

"About sixty eight kilometers. It'll be a three day journey, if we count each stop at the marketplace."

"Jesus, three days for that?! Can't they just get us to the border?" Marcus asked.

At that comment, Kyubimon frowned, "They have a business to attend to and families to feed. They're just civilians, not combatants." He reminded them, "They could refuse to help you and I won't force them."

"This is our best and only shot, I say we take it." Park stated, convinced with the digimon's idea.

"I guess so..." Mizuhara agreed while Marcus gave his opinion with a curt nod.

* * *

 _Camp Dawnstar GHQ._

 _"What's the casualty report, general?"_ The Minister of Defense asked coldly through the phone.

"The initial report estimates that between six to seven million dead, ninety percent are civilian casualties." Yamamoto answered with a shaky breath. "But that might rise up due to the nuclear fallout and the strong wind that might spread to the nearby towns and cities, totalling at ten to fourteen million affected by radiation poisoning."

He heard the minister sigh heavily on the other end of the line, _"Tell me, general, how powerful was that nuke?"_

"From what we could've gathered, from drone images, eyewitnesses and accounts from our troops, I can safely say that the bomb produced an explosion of 1.2 megatons... that's eighty times more powerful than the bomb dropped in Hiroshima. It is equal to the Americans' B83 nuclear bomb." He explained as a matter-of-fact.

 _"My god..."_ The minister's mouth fell silent.

"But we fear that the Metal Empire possesses something more powerful than that. With the arsenal they have, we suspect that the nuke that detonated was a dirty bomb, released by the terrorists."

 _"So are you saying that we're at war with the Metal Empire for nothing?!"_

"Negative, sir. The Metal Empire launched their assault about an hour before the detonation, either they weren't aware of this or they may be working with the terrorists. Either way, if they wanted to use a nuclear warhead to destroy us, they have something much bigger and more terrifying."

 _"What do you mean, general?"_ He asked frightengly.

"For a certainty, we know that the Imperium and the Metal Empire were exchanging intel and arsenals during their alliance. One of those intels was a blueprint to create in mass nuclear bombs as powerful as the Tsar Bomba, the full might of the Tsar Bomba." Yamamoto precised,"That's a nuke able to produce a blast of 100 megatons. We don't know, however, how many they have in their arsenal but... the destruction of that bomb would be... unimaginable... and I'm not even including the radioactive fallout and environmental disaster that would ensued."

"Not only that, but DSF intelligence suggests that the Metal Empire might have in possession hydrogen bombs and a weapon that we don't have on Earth: a thermobaric ballistic missile. They have them in large numbers and should they use them against our personnel, if they survive, the effects are... unique and extremely unpleasant."

 _"General... what are... what are the effects of nuclear bombs and radiation to our network?"_

"I'm no expert, sir, what I can confirm, is that we're currently experiencing a downgrade of quality of all telecommunication and electronical devices here, as if we've been hit by a minor EMP bomb. I think Yamaki-san from Hypnos knows better than I do, sir." He replied truthfully.

There was a short pause before he added, with a concerned voice, "Sir, if I may make a request, we're currently ill-equipped and undermanned for this kind of threat. I've sent an email to the CNS to help us contain the radiation and evacuate the local population but we can only quarantine the zone, and even for that we're lacking manpower."

 _"Hmm, indeed that is... problematic. We really didn't think that digimon could possess nuclear weapons or even power plants. Do they have any knowledge about that stuff?"_

"They have very limited knowledge about the effects of radiation poisoning, sir. As for nuclear weapons and power plants, the Metal Empire is one of the few nations in this world that possesses both." Yamamoto explained calmly, "It is quite stunning what some nations are able to do with nuclear energy, it is almost science-fiction to us but they have different needs then us humans, they don't take full advantage of it. Which could explain why they lack knowledge on that subject. From what Yamaki told me, each digimon species reacts differently to radiation. Others use it as some sort of life force, some breath that stuff or even have radiation in their blood. With such varied and drastic species it is almost impossible to create a collective protective gear for every digimon."

Though there was a brief silence on the other end of the line, the high ranking officer could tell that the Defence Minister was sweating profusely, worried about the current threats and situation in the Digital World.

"All that I'm asking, sir..." Yamamoto continued diplomatically, "Are additional medical personnel, nuclear experts and units specialised in CBRN defense."

 _"I... I will see with the Prime Minister about your request. But be warned that you might not get it. Word of the conflict has reached the UN and the Prime Minister is going to that meeting in New York in five hours. Until then, your orders are to hold the invasion force and push them out of Sword Zone. Do NOT invade the Metal Empire, even if the Royal Knights or the CNS are begging for your aid. Is that clear, general?"_

"Very clear, sir." Yamamoto answered dutifully.

 _"Very well, general. Good luck, may God be with you and bring our boys back home, dead or alive."_

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, 2335 hours._

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

A cacophony of artillery guns boomed across the camp, rocking the earth beneath her boots and her bones. A series of heavy mortar fire followed suit, kicking up dust and gravel around the artillery pieceS and the crew manning them. Her company has just been attached to an American cavalry unit that will be leading the counter-attack up North to a bridge where US Marines are currently holding at.

She and her squad barely got the time to rest up. They were ordered to move out just as quick as they've arrived at camp. Hurriedly, Hongo's platoon was directed to a large tent, designated as an ammunations depot. Under the OD green tent, the soldiers served themselves with ammunations, grenades, rations and water bottles. Carelessly chucking all the necessities in their combat rucksack, the soldiers fan out and headed for the armoured convoy.

If the preparations were done on time, they would be able to rapidly link up with the American unit and head towards their next battefield. A battle that would determine the outcome of the war.

Rika briskly grabbed a handful of 7.62mm NATO rounds and filled them in her empty magazines. Despite the fatigue and adrenaline rush, her hand movements were clean and natural. Replenishing magazines has become second nature for her. In less than five minutes, she was stock up in ammo, grenades, first aid packs, water and rations. Her rucksack was heavy but years of harsh training and logging that thing on her shoulders made her almost immune to the aching backpain. She jogged over to the Type 96 APC where some of her squadmates were embarking. The rest of her squad were hauling over behind her.

With the lost of both Private Yanaka and Yasumoto, PFC. Suwabe volunteered to man the squad's medium machine gun, alone. Replacing his Type 21 for the MG5A2, Suwabe checked the ammunation drums attached to his plate carrier before looking over to his squad leader. The man, like everyone else, was covered, head to toe, in dirt, ash, sweat and gunpowder. He had his uniform's sleeves rolled up, showing minor cuts and burns all over his forearms. His ballistic goggles took a sharpnel hit before the evacuation, resulting with a spider web-like shattered goggles. Yet despite all of that, she could clearly see his bright, confident smile and eyes.

She grinned back and nodded back at him. Suwabe was a good soldier. He was tall, muscular and a war veteran. Though he was physically intimidating and a force to be reckon with when it comes to hand-to-hand combat or any other physical exercise, he was also a beast when it comes to mental solving-problems and learning quickly. He was a veteran, but he was also one of the youngest soldiers in the platoon, barely 22 years. Which meant that he fought in the first expedition when he was only 18 and he had seen things that will haunt him forever.

Thinking about it made her shiver under her skin. She never wished to go to war. Fighting rogue digimon and participating in a full-scale, conventional war were two different things. She never even liked the military lifestyle nor did she really care about the geopolitical state of her country when she was younger. She just wanted a normal life, friends and a mother that cared about her more than her job. But alas, the battle of Tokyo drastically changed her view about life.

After experiencing it, witnessing death and destruction of untold proportion, she felt that she needed to repay the sacrifices made by the men and women, soldiers and civilians, who gave up their lives or who tragically perished. She felt that she needed to protect her family, friends and her home. She felt that it was her duty to avenge those who lost their lives that day and to prevent another terrible conflict to ever happen on Japanese soil. Feeling determined, she perked up to see Ryo giving out his right hand, gazing at her with a fiery determination.

She took his hand and let him haul her in the vehicle. The rear ramp closed up, the passengers were bathed in a dim hue of red. The muffled roars of the engines could be heard outside the armoured chassis. The APC rumbled, hitched then began to move forward, following the pace of the lead vehicle.

Rika closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

 _"Time to go to work."_

* * *

 _Autumn's Bridge, 0127 hours._

"Reloading!" Mikey shouted, taking cover behind the tree trunk.

"Fuck! I'm hit!" Yelled PFC. Martinez in pain.

"Frag out!" Mikey pulled the pin and tossed it down the slope. The hand grenade blew up between three digimon infantry soldiers, throwing them further down the hill.

He rolled his way to Martinez, grabbed his plate carrier and pulled him back behind cover. "Where are you hit?" He asked loudly, panting and heaving the Marine closer to him.

"Motherfucker got me in the right leg! Fuck!" Martinez hissed.

"Just keep your head down! I've got you brother!" Mikey reassured him and searched for his first aid pack."Where's your pack?!"

"Right side! Right side!"

"Got it!" He spotted the pack and ripped it off the plate carrier. He took the Marine's tourniquet and looked for the wound. He saw massive bleeding coming from a gunshot wound just above the knee cap. He lifted the man's leg, slid the tourniquet around the member and placed it above the wound. Quickly, he strapped it and set it tightly around the thigh, earning a surprised yelp from Martinez.

"What the hell, hermano?!" He hissed bitterly.

"Do you need morphine?" Mikey asked. He shook his head. "Okay, stay calm,brother..." He perked up and looked around for Sergeant Samberg. "Corpsman! Corpsman!" He shouted while applying a sterile gauze on the wound to slow down the bleeding.

"They're coming up again!" He heard a Marine shout.

"Grenade!"

He felt something solid hit the back of his helmet. He looked behind him, his eyes grew wide open and his face paled in an instant.

"OH FUCK!" Martinez yelled in panic.

Without thinking, Mikey took the grenade and tossed it back at the enemy. It detonated just a few meters away from them, blasting a Commandramon down the hill.

"Hijo de puta... you're one crazy motherfucker."

"Don't worry, brother, I've got you." The Lance Corporal reassured him again with a slight smile, his heart beating rapidly due to the fact that he just dodged a gruesome death. _"Holy shit!"_

After the initial successful ambush, the Marines were able to stall and push back the enemy logistic convoy. Unfortunately it didn't last long when heavy enemy units started to flood in, hitting the Marines with mortar and tank volleys. Under heavy enemy suppression, D-Brigade troops were able to cross the bridge and take the fight uphill, resulting in a chaotic and confusing crossfire. Alphamon's and Examon's teams were targeting enemy tanks and heavy units while the Marines would occupy the infantry and light cavalry units. They just needed to hold the enemy at bay before reinforcements arrive.

"Kudo! Bring him up here!" Samberg ordered loudly.

Mikey looked up and spotted the platoon corpsman a few dozen meters above, hidden behind a bush and in a shell hole. He swore under his breath and dragged Martinez by the straps of his plate carrier.

"Cover fire! Cover fire!" Browning shouted sternly.

"Smoke out!" Corporal Hollands lobbed a smoke grenade down, masking Mikey's retreat up the hill.

"Jesus Christ! Why – are – you – so – heavy?!" He said between each tired and laboured breaths.

"What are you applying, cabrón?" Martinez asked offendedly.

"Lay off the donuts, man." Mikey replied bluntly.

"Hey! Fuck you, man!"

Samberg hopped out of the shell hole and quickly grabbed Martinez's plate carrier and helped Mikey to drag the wounded into the shell hole. They got in cover before pulling him in. The young Lance Corporal gave him the info he needed before he hopped out of the hole and returned to his position.

Rounds flew in his direction, forcing his head down behind the tree trunk. The bullets chewed out his only cover and it won't take long before they tore through it. He let out a shaky breath, his body was starting to react to his drenched and muddy clothes that stuck to his skin. His uniform, including his plate carrier, felt much heavier due to the mud and rainfall. He bit his tongue and gritted his teeth. He would complain later.

He crawled to the side and set his rifle on a stable rock, peering into the ACOG. He held his breath and pulled the trigger. Short bursts of 7.62 spat out of the barrel, tearing through a digimon's plate armour like paper. The roar of a M240B echoed behind him, mowing down any hostiles that were barely a dozen meters away from his platoon's position.

"Get some!" PFC. Kyle shouted angrily.

Under overwhelming fire, the enemy started to retreat. The Marines have finally won the firefight, now they need to retake some ground. While the enemy soldiers frantically ran down the hill, the Marines mercilessly gunned them down, leaving no survivors.

"Set!"

"Fire!"

Three distinct "thump" blasted behind Raymond's position. The company commander overlooked the battle on top of the hill. Three loud explosions erupted at the other side of the bridge, destroying enemy machine gun teams in an instant.

"They're pulling back! Push forward!"

"Push to the bridge!" Gunnery-Sergeant Porter shouted sternly.

On command, the Marines moved down the hill, firing and progressing as they chased the retreating enemy.

"Tell them to hold up at the bridge and to hold their ground there." Raymond ordered his radio transmitter.

Back on the frontline, Mikey's platoon was the first to reach the bridge, halting just beside it and taking cover behind the wall of sandbags. As the rest of the company started to take their positions at the bridge, Mikey took a moment to actually breathe and think. He did a quick check-up on himself. He was still alive with minimum injuries, mostly light burns and cuts.

He took a sip of water from his camelbak, a small bite out of his crushed energy bar and slammed in a fresh magazine in his rifle. He still had two mags on him and probably four more in his combat rucksack but ammo was depleting faster than expected for everyone. The bull-whip cracks and snaps of rifles and machine guns snapped him out of his trance. He pulled the charging handle back, chambering in a round and joined the firefight.

* * *

 _0146 hours._

The Japanese halted five hundred meters away from the battlefield. The foot soldiers disembarked and regrouped in platoons. Each platoon leader did a quick check up of their unit before joining the Marines in the fight.

As Hongo was doing a headcount of his soldiers, Rika couldn't help but stare in awe at the bridge in the distance. She could only see explosions and tracer rounds flying everywhere. The firefight only grew in intensity and ferocity. American tanks were already pounding enemy positions, taking the lead while Marine infantrymen provided cover fire. The Japanese convoy will shortly join the tank charge, pushing through enemy line and disrupting their forces. The echoes of gunshots sounded like loud firecrackers, going off non-stop as if it was the 4th of July.

She could hear her heart beating wildly. Apprehension and anticipation set in. She took in a deep inhale and exhaled heavily. The air was polluted with ash and gunpowder, burning her lungs. She wiped off the beads of sweat from her face and turned to her platoon leader. He gave her a solid nod. She returned the nod.

"Alright troops! Move out!" He ordered gruffily.

"Give them hell! Let's go!" Master Sergeant Okitsu yelled angrily.

"Ryoukai!" They replied in unison, voices filled with determination.

The Japanese soldiers jogged forward, joining the Marines in the counter-offensive. Little did they know, only death and destruction awaited them once they cross the bridge.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Heeyyy! Sorry for the long wait but work got in the way. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter and are looking forward to the next one which will include: more firefights! spec ops action! _more_ firefights! and a small sneak peek of another character. Unfortunately I can't tell when it will be updated since my time schedule has been quite sporatic as of late. I love getting informed about a mission at the last minute :'). As always _à la prochaine!_**


	11. The Mole

Chapter 11: The Mole

 _Kasrstadt, Metal Empire, 30th September 2022._

Marcus woke up suddenly after the merchant caravan went over a bump. The caravan shook lightly across the uneven and untended stone road. He could hear thousands of voices, the lively and bustling commotion of a marketplace. His team was hiding in the caravan behind the many crates and barrels of fresh produce and fine wine. Taomon and Lucemon (completely disguised in a thick, brown robe) were sat at the front, taking the leash and role of caravanners.

Kyubimon was at the head of the two caravan convoy, leading them and acted as the bodyguard. Each caravan was towed by two Unimon. There was also a Greymon as the rear guard, an old colleague that Kyubimon worked with during these sorts of expeditions.

"Finally awake, huh, dream warrior." Park said with a sly grin.

"Yare, Yare..." He lazily shot back, "Are we there yet?" He yawned.

"Yep, they should take a spot soon." Mizuhara answered while peeking out through his fiberscope camera. "I don't see any D-Brigades, but this place sure is crowded."

"We're at a marketplace, what did you expect?" Park asked dryly.

"True... just hope that Kyubimon and his friends won't fuck up 'cause we clearly don't have the ammo to deal with another battalion of tin cans." Marcus commented nonchalantly.

Mizuhara turned around and gazed at him curiously, "... Tin cans? Is that how you call them?" Marcus nodded simply, "Huh... Kinda like it actually."

The caravan shook to an abrupt stop. The operators stood still for several short second, ready spring to action if need be. Thankfully, it was just their stop. Taomon and Lucemon helped the other two merchants to set up the stalls and unload the products. Now it was time for the waiting game. While she and the rest were manning the shop, Kyubimon went off to get in contact with some of his friends in order for the operators and Lucemon to switch caravans and towards their next destination.

Time went on. The operators kept a close eye and ear of their surroundings ... or more accurately, they were chilling inside the cart among the crates and barrels. That said, word about the war have reached the ears of every digimon in the Metal Empire, which soon became the topic of conversation between a digimon commoner and Taomon.

"Yeah, something called a "dirty bomb" just destroyed Harmony City," The Clockmon villager said, "Apparently the CNS and the IDDF are blaming the Emperor."

"Really?" Taomon asked surprisingly, completely missing the news of these past few days. "Wow, things are happening in a flash." She commented.

"Huh, tell me about it," Clockmon conceded, "And that's what scares me the most. I've heard that the Army is starting to draft digimon from nearby towns around Facture. I'm kinda afraid that the humans might've broken through."

"Are you more afraid of the humans?"

"Well yeah, why shouldn't I be? You saw what they were capable of doing during the Great War; complete barbaric and brutal monsters!" He exclaimed, earning a couple of puzzled looks from the operators listening into the conversation. "I sure hope that the CNS will open their eyes to the truth and kick the IDDF out of our world."

"You said it, brother!" Another villager, a Pandamon, chimed in, "It's all the Royal Knights' fault that the humans are here. One day, they'll backstab everyone and conquer our world."

"P-p-please, gentlemon, can you please continue this conversation elsewhere, you're bothering our customers." Taomon reasoned with them.

"O-oh, right... sorry about that," The two digimon said in unison before paying and leaving the stall.

"What the fuck...?" Mizuhara said in disbelief. "Did I just hear that a nuke went off?"

"No you heard it clearly," Park assured him, "That just means that war just broke out. Even more reason for us to get back to friendly lines fast."

"Yeah, so where the fuck is Kyubimon then?" Marcus asked impatiently.

"Right here," The four-legged digimon replied while poking his head in the cart.

"Are your friends willing to help us?" Park asked.

"Yes. They should take you directly toward the border." Kyubimon replied blankly.

"Uh? That's very kind of them but what changed their minds? If I may ask."

"They've heard the news about the war. They are willing to help you out in any way. Consider yourselves lucky." He told them in a serious tone, "You should change cart in three hours... so hang in there for the moment." He added with a sly smirk before leaving them alone.

"Great... more waiting..." Marcus puffed and leaned against a wine barrel.

* * *

 _Autumn's Bridge, Sword Zone, 0946 hours._

Explosions and firefights echoed in the distance, plumes of black smoke could be seen rising into the grey sky. The battle for Autumn's Bridge was over but not the war. The joint American-Japanese force have fought a hard and long battle to capture the critical and strategic bridge, in fact it was just this morning that the men and women of the IDDF were able to get a moment of respite. The enemy force, what was left of it anyways, retreated, allowing the humans to finally breathe, fortify their defenses and recollect their dead and treat the wounded. The tanks were posted ahead of the infantry and IFVs, blocking the road.

Captain Raymond was calmly discussing with Captain Kurts, company commander of the tank platoon that came to their aid. Their conversation was cut short when a HippoGriffomon flew down toward them. The quad-pedal mythical creature slowed down in his descent and gracefully landed in front of the two officers, respectfully bowing his head at them.

"Captain Raymond," He formally adressed to the Marine, "Sir Alphamon wanted to know why you haven't continued with the assault."

"Assault? Wait- you mean you guys are already ahead of us?" Raymond asked concernly.

"Negative, captain, we're still at our planned position but we need your support to continue our progress." The digimon explained.

"Sorry, lieutenant, but we got our orders to halt our advance here and hold this bridge." Raymond responded.

"Captain, if I may, your support is crucial if we want to win this war." Hippogriffomon pressed on diplomatically.

"Look, lieutenant..." Captain Kurts interjected bluntly, "We've got our orders from the UN that we should not advance into Metal Empire territory. Period."

Slightly taken aback by their stubbornness and unwillingless, the digimon griffon decided wisely to concede with their decision. He politely excused himself and flew back to his task force team leader.

"I bet this won't be the last time we'll hear this from them." Kurts said slightly irritated.

"Nope," Raymond reassured him tiredly, "We'll get a visit from Alphamon quite soon."

"Welp, that won't be my problem anymore. I'm gonna leave that to you," The tank commander replied with a smile, "Good luck," He gave him a pat on the shoulder before walking back toward his tank.

"Of course..." Raymond muttered bitterly. He spotted Sullivan supervising the evacuation of wounded.

The First Lieutenant, who have matured and took more initiatives then the first time they've met, has proven himself to be an essential element to the company and a good leader to the Marines. Raymond has been thinking for quite some time to actually promote him to captain and take command of the company. Besides, he already knew he was going to be promoted himself to Major, sensing that his retirement will come sooner than he hoped for...

"Sullivan!" He called out to him, getting the officer's attention with a jerk of his head.

Sullivan marched quickly to him, "Sir?" He replied patiently.

Raymond glanced up and down, inspecting him quickly. He wasn't injured but he could see the dark bags under his red-shot eyes, probably due to a mixture of sleep deprivation and ash and gunpowder exposure that caused the irritation.

"Are those our last casualties?" He asked curiously.

"Affirmative. Medevac should arrive in twenty minutes but... comms said that it might take longer. Almost all air assets are unavailable, captain." Sullivan explained with a deep frown.

"You've done quite enough, Sullivan, and I appreciate that a lot." He reassured him with a proud smile.

"Thank you, sir."

However that smile disappeared from his features as soon as he noticed Alphamon coming toward him. Fast. "Ah fuck..." He muttered dryly and turned to the Royal Knight to meet him face-to-face.

The black Royal Knight halted in his stride in front of the Marine, hovering a few feet above ground. Alphamon gazed at him questionably, as if surprised by the response he got from Hippogriffomon.

"Captain Raymond," He began slowly,"May I ask why you have halted our progress?" He demanded politely.

"Just got ordered by GHQ to halt our progress here, at the bridge, and hold the line." Raymond explained plainly.

"But we have the enemy on the run, we can still push them back while we have the upper hand."

"Upper hand?" He replied incredulously, "With all due respect, sir, we are in no shape to seize that upper hand. We're severely outnumbered and underpowered. We're lacking air support and quite frankly," He then pointed at the hill beyond the bridge, "we don't know what the fuck we're up against."

"Then send in a reconnaissance element. We cannot stay here and wait for the enemy to come to us. We need to push forward and fast, captain," Alphamon reasoned tactically.

"Sending a recon team won't solve the problem, sir," The human countered patiently, "We're dealing with an entire invasion force. What's over there may be waiting for us and we might be up against a whole division. In addition, if we push forward, we may run the risk to get ourselves cut off from the main force and get surrounded by the D-Brigade. We're currently spread thin here, sir."

"But we are at _war,_ captain. You are no longer in the context of a peacekeeping mission. They've fired the first shot and _we_ respond by going to war." The Royal Knight was starting to sound a bit frustrated.

"Look, sir, we're doing our best to fight back the enemy but if we push deeper, we will get surrounded with zero support. The enemy _are_ coming to us and they may appear anytime soon." He explained bluntly, "And quite frankly, I'm not here to get these Marines killed. I'm doing my best to bring them back home... alive."

Alphamon's gaze hardened but Raymond stared back in defiance and with determination. Neither wanted to back down, each had their own objectives to complete. But after giving some thought, the Aloof Hermit finally conceded and backed down. His gaze softened and he sighed in defeat.

"Very well... we'll follow through with your orders." He declared calmly, "We'll wait for the enemy and give them hell once they appear."

This earned a side smirk from Raymond,"That's the spirit, sir. I suggest that you set up your task forces along our western perimeter. Your forces should be able to quickly intervene to any perimeter if need be."

"Understood, capta-"

"HOSTILE AIR! NINE O'CLOCK!" Someone shouted frantically.

Everyone look up to the sky and sure enough they could faintly hear the sounds of jet engines, propellers and wailing sirens. It sounded as if an angry storm was coming toward them... which was, in a way, the case. They could see dozens of bombers and attack air assets, scattering all over the horizon.

"Contact! Everyone get into posi-"

He was abruptly interrupted when artillery shells pounded the hills in front of the tanks, slowly closing in on them. The earth quaked violently and the air was filled with the whistles of impending doom.

"They've got us zeroed in! SCATTER!" He bellowed sternly. "Sir! You need to take care of them now! We'll handle the rest from here."

"On it, captain. I'll see you on the other side," Alphamon flew back to Examon and the rest of the task force to muster his troops, "Good luck!"

* * *

"Infantry! Pouring through the woodlines!"

Rika quickly ran to her foxhole on the hill and began to let out rounds into the enemy wave. The two facing hills were lit up with beams and tracer rounds, exchanging hits and attacks. From the road below them, the M1A2 Abrams fired barrages of anti-personnel shells into the woodline, decimating the D-Brigade infantry. The two Type 96 APCs stationned on top of the hill fired volleys of 40mm HE grenades and 12.7mm rounds. The small Japanese platoon was showering the enemy force with everything they've got, able for a moment to hold the tide. But not for long.

Her rifle barked loudly after each round fired. The weapon trembled in her grips after each shot. The strong smell of gunpowder invaded her nose and stung her eyes. Sweat poured out of her like a fountain, tracing clear lines through her grimey and dusty body. Her body was exhausted and she felt the immense fatigue but her mind and training pushed her beyond her limits. This was a matter of life or death. Her very survival depended on her actions. Her hard and focused gaze was glued behind the red dot sight, lining it with her newly acquired target. She functionned like a well-oiled machine: made for war, bent on killing and fueled by rage and blood.

The Type 21 clicked empty. Almost automatically, she ducked down and reloaded, unknowingly dodging an energy beam that would've messed up her face if she stayed there a second longer. She shoved the new magazine into the lower receiver and slapped the charging handle forward, releasing a satisfying mechanical snap.

"Oh fuck! Hostile tanks!" Ryo yelled loudly through the firefight, "On the road! Six hundred meters, to our ten!"

"Get a fucking Panzerfaust up!" Lieutenant Hongo shouted in response, "Wait until they get close enough!"

"I'll get them!" Rika yelled back as she got up and ran out of her foxhole, "Yusa! On me!" She ordered sternly.

"Yes, sergeant!" The private replied loudly, following closely behind his squad leader.

The duo quickly climbed up the hill to the APCs, running past the vehicles and the mortar teams to get to the vacant Komatsu LAV. She harshly opened the rear door and they quickly took the four Panzerfaust 3s along with a bag carrying the additional warheads and barrels. She hefted the bag to her back and carried two Panzerfausts, her battle rifle hanging loosely in front of her. Her arms ached with numbing pain but she gritted her teeth and persevered.

"Hustle up, Yusa!" She shouted as she ran back down the hill.

With the added weights, she moved much slower and with her tired body, she almost tripped on her way down hill. Yusa was also in the same condition, stumbling and breathing heavily while also dodging incoming enemy fire.

"Five hundred meters, sergeant!" Ryo told her as she set the rocket launchers next to him.

She spat out the built up bile in her mouth and panted rapidly. She could barely think straight with the fatigue setting in and the chaotic firefight that was going on around her.

"Fuck, I'm getting old for this crap..." She muttered dryly, She picked up a launcher and hefted over her right shoulder, "Oh fuck me!" She puffed out.

"Maybe later," Ryo commented quietly while he shouldered the other launcher.

Both Yusa and Kanemaru took the other two Panzerfausts and got into position, setting their aim at the incoming wave of Tankmon. She pulled the warhead's rod out and set her sight on the leading tank.

"I'll take the first shot. You guys follow behind," She instructed them, "Oh and Akiyama, I'll personally fuck you up when this is over. So don't you fucking die in the mean time."

"I look forward to it..." He sighed grimly, actually regretting his small remark and counting down his time.

She breathed out heavily and slowly, her index was set on the trigger, "Back blast clear?"

"CLEAR!" They replied in unison.

"FIRING!"

A heavy "whoosh" ruptured in her ears, dirt and dust kicked up around her, the launcher quaked in her tired arms, forcing her to let go of it. The 110mm warhead soared across the hill and down toward the leading Tankmon. The Tandem warhead pierced through Tankmon's heavily armoured face and detonated from within. The ammunation ripped the digimon in half.

As the second warhead was fired, she crawled to the munitions bag and grabbed a new warhead attached to its barrel. She removed the launcher's optical sight and firing mechanism and threw away the spent barrel. She re-attached them on the new barrel and her new launcher was set and ready to fire. The third rocket went off, finishing the second and severely wounded Tankmon. However the fourth rocket didn't go.

"The Abrams are here! Spare those rockets!" Okitsu ordered with his coarse voice.

Suddenly a surprised cry came from Kanemaru's mouth. Rika turned to him and quickly jumped to his aid.

"Man down!" She shouted while looking for the wound.

The man hissed and moaned in pain, lying on his left side and clutching his right ribs. She saw that he has also been hit on his right upper arm but it seemed to have been cauterized.

"Let's get him to that foxhole! Ryo, help me pick him up. Yusa, cover fire!"

As ordered, the men got to work. She and Ryo grabbed tightly Kanemaru's plate carrier and started to drag him toward the nearest foxhole. Yusa stayed behind with the rockets while providing cover fire. Though they've only travelled a dozen meters, it felt as if they've been going along for a couple hundred more. They tiredly heaved and pulled the wounded in the foxhole and started to apply first aid to the soldier.

"Yusa, get to us!" She shouted while cutting off a piece of Kanemaru's uniform. She was so focused at keeping him alive that she didn't noticed nor heard Yusa's response. She looked up for a second and scanned her surroundings. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Yusa!" She yelled again, but again she got zero response. "Kami... patch him up, I'll get a medic on the way." She told Ryo as she climb over the foxhole. "Yusa!"

She looked over where they left off the rockets. Sure enough they were there, and so was Private Yusa, except lying down in a pool of blood. _"No, no, no, no..."_ She repeated to herself desperately as she raced to him.

She got to her knees beside him. His back facing her, she rolled him over and gasped in shock. Yusa had several holes punctured into him, and his face... was nothing but a pit of flesh, bone and gore. It basically caved in on itself like it took a direct superhuman-like punch.

"Oh god no," She whispered with a shaky voice. She quietly took his dog tags and picked up the rockets with her. "Medic! Medic!" She cried out while running back to Ryo and Kanemaru.

* * *

 _"So, what's the mission, captain?" First Lieutenant Kazuyuki "Mozart" Kirimoto asked, being the most senior field officer of the squad. With the squad now reduced to five operators, he was the field commander of the entire team._

 _"You'll be attached to a SFG platoon, callsign "Shadow". You will join them shortly by air." Captain Yuuki informed him plainly, "Your mission: search and destroy an enemy artillery battery located at Hill 78. Sitrep on the field: a joint battalion-sized force of DSF and Strike Force are going to assault the hill at 0800 hours, expecting heavy resistance and to meet them in battle at the foothill. This should be enough to gather the D-Brigade's attention. In the meantime, you, the SFGs and a platoon of Rangers, callsign "Hunter", will assault the hill through the dense forest from the East. With the distraction going on at the foot of the hill; you should be able to climb up the hill discreetly and wrecked havoc with their pants down. Destroy everything there. Call-in air support if need be. You have a blank check to bring hell to those fuckers. Any questions?"_

 _"Everything's crystal clear, captain."_

 _"Very well. Your mission begins in thirty minutes. Make the necessary preparations; this could be your last."_

Sergeant Shiroh "Archer" Nakagawa rose up from his seat after the C-130's passenger cabin lights turned red. The other operators did as well, checking parachutes, equipment, weapon and rebreathers. He tightened the parachute's straps on him, double-checked the HK417 rifle and the MP7 PDW before giving a thumbs up to the squad leader. He felt a light tap on his right shoulder, prompting him to turn around and face Corporal Keiji "Jack" Tsuda. The operator was armed to the teeth with a Mk 48 Mod 1, three M72 LAWs in his assault pack and a M320 GLM with a few dozen HE, HEDP and airburst 40mm grenades. In other words, he was a heavy one man army... that will drop from sky behind enemy lines. If that wasn't terrifying enough, he didn't know what will.

"Hey, just a dumb question but what did they not just send a drone strike?" He asked almost rhetorically.

"You know why, Jack. All air assets are unavailable." He replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Well clearly not, since we will dropping by... in broad fucking daylight!"

"Hey dude!" Another operator chimed in, annoyed, "I just work here. Don't spoil the fun and enjoy the ride."

"Dawg, I'm not complaining," Tsuda said in defense, "I enjoy killing those fuckers as much as the next guy. I'm just wondering why we all just agreed to this. We basically signed our death wish here."

"Two minutes!" Lieutenant Kirimoto warned loudly.

All the operators remained silent and faced the cabin's rear ramp. A low whine echoed through the cabin. The ramp hissed and slowly lowered, letting the cool breeze to wash over them. The strong wind howled, a sea of puffy clouds was revealed to them. The sun shone warmly. It was a breathtaking sight that almost made him forget about the on-going war that was happening on the ground, past those soft-looking clouds.

"One minute!"

The operators waddled closer to the edge of the ramp, ready to jump into action on the signal. Nakagawa pulled down his ballistic goggles and strapped on his rebreather. Fresh recycled oxygen filled his lungs as he waited patiently to jump out. Then the cabin lights turned green. With a swift and stiff gesture, Kirimoto pointed down at the clouds. The elite shock troopers ran toward the emptiness and jumped out of the plane, diving feet first into the battlefield.

* * *

 _Hill 78, 0750 hours, Sword Zone._

The earth quaked violently as the DSF artillery batteries pounded the hill in several barrages. Plumes of dirt shot upwards along with enemy soldiers, or pieces of them. The panicked cries were muffled by the orchestrated fireworks of the artillery cannons. Once the guns fell silent, the entire hill was masked by a thick cloud of smoke, dust and ash. Through his binoculars, Brigadier-General Slayerdramon observed the devastating scene. The elderly digimon released a tired breath before looking at his troops. His soldiers have fought valiantly and tiredlessly since the war began. They've pushed the invasion force back toward the border and are now at the spearhead of the counter-attack. That said, morale was at an all time low during these harsh and brutal battles. Each skirmish, each battle won came at a heavy cost. Though he was regarded as the most competent and smartest tactician in the DSF military and admired by his soldiers, facing the D-Brigade has been his toughest challenge yet. The Metal Empire military has changed a lot in its strategies, which was the reason for it fearsome reputation to adapt to any situation.

He and his troops may have won important battles, he couldn't help but feel that their victories was far too easy. Something didn't feel right and his guts were screaming at him. Yet, the enemy was on the back foot and he couldn't waste that opportunity. The initiative must be seized if they wanted to win the battle for the Sword Zone.

Accompanying his battalion was a company-sized Strike Force led by the famous crimson paladin, Dukemon. His mere presence was a huge morale boost to the troops and he had shown the Brigadier-General that he was a fierce fighter and natural leader. Slayerdramon was glad to have the Royal Knight by his side.

"Five minutes, general." Captain Knightmon informed him calmly.

"The special forces should be in position. Begin the assault, Captain."

Knightmon unsheathed his greatsword and picked up his greatshield. "Get ready to assault!" He commanded sternly.

Slayerdramon drew out the _Fragarach_ and pointed the tip at the hill. On command, the soldiers rushed out of the creek bed. They sprinted across the no man's land in a spread out wedge formation with Dukemon's troops at the tip of the assault force. The soldiers remained quiet, progressing through the grass field as quickly and as discreetly as possible. There were no war cries or valourous shouts. Speed was key and they must maintain an element of surprise.

They crossed the smoke cloud but once the dust as settled and cleared, they were met by a deadly mortar barrage and machine gun fire. The surviving defenders were about to get into formation, the hill outpost providing cover fire. Casualties on the coalition's side were mounting up. Digimon were torn to shreds by cluster munitions. The first row of digimon dropped dead like flies by the swathes of ranged attacks. Horns were blown to signal the defenders to attack.

The coalition forces picked up the pace and launched their initial ranged attacks, dealing a heavy blow to the exhausted D-Brigade soldiers before clashing in a brutal and bloody melee.

Meanwhile, to the hill's uncovered left wing, about a company of special forces operators were slowly creeping up the hill. The various bushes and rocks provided the humans with ample amount of cover to maneuver around. They moved up fast but stealthily. The defenders were entirely focused on the larger attacking element. The US Army Rangers, as always, led the way. These elite soldiers were experts in raids and shock and awe attacks. Each Ranger was heavily armed and packed with explosives. They planned to actually blow the outpost to hell.

The ground trembled as the artillery cannons and mortars fired in unison, briefly muffling the sounds of battle. Upon reaching the outpost, the operators climbed over the discarded Hesco barriers and sandbags and took positions behind the ruined manufactured barracks and abandonned trenches. Fortunately for them, the artillery digimon were stationned in the middle of the outpost, completely exposed and with light infantry protection.

 _"To all units, open fire on my signal. Priority targets are the artillery batteries and machine gun teams."_ The commanding officer of the Rangers instructed quietly through the comms.

Nakagawa set his sights on one of the digimon radio specialists, all bunched up between the artillery cannons. Tsuda rolled out the three LAWs from his rucksack and picked one up, aiming at a Cannondramon.

 _"Okay, light 'em up."_

Suddenly, the D-Brigade soldiers were being ambushed from their left wing, within the outpost. Rockets flew out of nowhere and destroyed several artillery digimon, incapacitating their heavy support. Caught off guard, the defenders were in a disarray. Hundreds of rounds were poured into the enemy ranks. The humans pushed deeper in the outpost, spreading out into multiple squads and combed the area for targets. In mere minutes, the operators have crushed any resistance.

Tsuda's machine gun roared furiously, spitting out hot lead. Nakagawa's shots were accurate, firing in short bursts or semi-automatic. Each series of rounds bit its target. Blood bursted out of the digimon and splattered on the dusty ground. The enemy's fighting will was broken, they were beginning to retreat. But the operators had other plans with them. They were given the permission to show zero mercy. The humans' superior firepower and mobility outpaced the retreating defenders, managing to surround and trap them in the outpost. They mercilessly gunned down every soldier to the last digimon.

Once the outpost was cleared of any hostiles, the operators got into positions at the outpost's South perimeter where the melee battle took place. The joint DSF-Strike Force battalion have gained the upper hand but was still encountering heavy resistance. The D-Brigade defenders have yet to notice that their guns have remained silent for the past half hour. A loud horn echoed in the chaotic melee. Slowly, the D-Brigade disengaged and tried to regroup back at the outpost. Then they were met with volleys of small arms fire on the way up.

The onslaught didn't last long. From the hill, they were cut down by bullets and grenades while getting butchered by Slayerdramon's forces. It was a slaughter. Only a few dozen survived by giving up arms. Their lives were spared from being executed from the humans thanks to Slayerdramon and Dukemon. At 0930 hours, Hill 78 now belonged to the coalition forces, cutting the invasion force in two. Despite a significant victory, the war was far from over.

Nakagawa sat down and took in the sight of death and destruction that he and his fellow operators have brought upon. He was amazed at what they were capable off; they were truly the Grim Reaper incarnated. While their allies picked their wounded and made a head count of their KIAs, the humans were waiting for extraction to get into another battlefield.

The sharpshooter took off his helmet and emptied his water bottle on himself. He let out a satisfied sigh as the water cooled off his mind and body. The other operators chatted among themselves, relaxing and napping to the chaotic sounds of distant battlefields. Tsuda was certaintly enjoying his nap, sleeping in a shell hole with his trusty Mk 48 by his side. He had his boonie hat over his face to shield himself from the burning digital sun.

Lieutenants Kirimoto and Horiuchi were talking with the general Slayerdramon. The armored dragon-man was thanking the two officers for their aid in the battle. As per usual, Kirimoto remained unanimous and humble while Horiuchi simply didn't care; he was, after all, a former paratrooper who enjoyed fighting more than anyone in the unit... well except maybe Marcus.

He sensed Sergeant Shuichi "Casper" Okiura, the squad's remaining combat medic, sitting beside him. The medic silently offered him a cigarette, which he gladly obliged. He placed the butt of the cigarette between his lips and searched through his pockets for his lighter. Okiura lit up his own with a simple plastic lighter, glancing at the sniper curiously.

"Motherfucker..." Nakagawa muttered irritatedly.

"Here," Okiura handed out his lighter.

"Heh, thanks..." He stopped his search and took the cheap lighter. He lit the tip of his cigarette and gave it back to Okiura, "but I wish I could use mine." He finished before taking a long drag of nicotine.

"Why? A lighter's a lighter."

"Nah, mine's a zippo that belonged to an American paratrooper." He explained, "A custom one too. He personally engraved the "Screaming Eagle" onto it. Looked pretty awesome."

"Think you lost it during the drop?" Okiura asked.

"Highly probable. Must've slipped off. Not gonna lie, but I'm a bit pissed off right now." Nakagawa admitted sincerely.

Silence returned and time passed peacefully for a moment. However the peace and quiet was disturbed when they felt light tremors beneath their feet. He looked down at the ground, noticing that the tremors were growing in intensity. Everyone in the area fell silent, feeling the earth quaked under their feet.

"Are we standing on a major fault line, general?" Kirimoto asked Slayerdramon concernly.

"No, that's impossible..."

The armoured dragon-man looked around his surroundings, trying to figure out the origins of the sudden earthquake. He looked up and was shocked to notice a large wave of enemy aerial fighters crossing the border, totaling in hundreds of hostiles flying in V-formations.

"Sir! Movement to the North! 600! Coming in fast!" A Ravmon sergeant reported to Dukemon.

Slayerdramon jogged to the northern defensive walls and spotted four large trails of dirt moving quickly toward them. It was as if large creatures were digging just below the surface at an incredible rate. A digimon this big could only mean one thing-

"Contact! Prepare for battle!" He bellowed sternly.

His troops jumped into action. His subordinate officers barked orders as they hurried over to the walls, getting into formation and preparing to face the enemy. Nakagawa and Okiura both spat out their cigarettes and crushed the flames before sprinting to the walls.

"300 meters!"

All of the sudden, huge chunks of earth shot upward into the air. A shower of pebbles and dirt rained on the digimon formations. Bursting through the surface were four Breakdramon. The giant mechanical beasts roared out and pushed out of the underground tunnels. Various and numerous battlecries echoed from these tunnels as a sea of D-Brigade infantry rushed out.

The coalition force was caught by surprise. The humans immediately opened fire at the Breakdramon, calling air and artillery strikes as quickly as possible.

"Taser Strike!" One of the Breakdramon shouted fiercely. All of its drills shot out of its body and plummeted toward the outpost like a mortar barrage.

"Spread out! NOW!" Dukemon yelled urgently.

"Oh fuck!" Tsuda screamed in panic.

Everyone broke formation and spread out but it was too late. The drills plunged and stroke through the ranks, destroying entire squads of soldiers. The attack cut deeply into their defenses.

"Focus fire on the Breakdramon! Dukemon, take command, I'll lead the charge!" Slayerdramon ordered with steely confidence. "Vanguards! On me!"

"You heard the boss! MOVE OUT!"

The Brigadier-General bravely led his troops toward the enemy line while all ranged units put their effort on the Breakdramon. Dukemon led his Strike Force to the air and deployed hit-and-run attacks of the giant machine dragons, dodging their terrifying swipes and powerful attacks while riposting.

"Rangers! Focus on the infantry! Do not let them surround the general and his men!"

The operators shifted their focus on the infantry, pouring hot lead into their ranks. Slayerdramon and his soldiers clashed violently with the D-Brigade. They were greatly outnumbered but with combined arms tactics and disciplined fire-and-maneuver attacks, the coalition force was able to hold on, keeping the enemy at bay... but not for long.

"Vulture 2-2, this is Hunter 5. Requesting fire mission on grid Alpha 9. Four heavy armour. We will laser the targets! Be advised: targets are giant level fours. Over." An attached Air Force JTAC requested through his comms.

 _"Hunter 5, this is Vulture 2-2. Fire mission request confirmed. Grid: Alpha 9. Four heavy armour, level 4. Targets are laser marked. Ready for gun run. ETA five mikes. How copy? Over."_ Replied a female pilot.

"Vulture 2-2. Solid copy. ETA five mikes. Over and out." The JTAC operator turned to his commanding officer, "ETA five mikes, lieutenant!"

"Got it! Five mikes, gentlemen! Give them hell!"

"Archer! Pop HE grenades to our right flank! They're getting surrounded!"

Nakagawa ran up to Tsuda and searched through his rucksack while the other continued to lay down a shower of hot lead. He took the grenade launcher and a belt of 40mm grenades with him. He jogged down the defensive line and set himself up on top of crumbled watchtower. He chugged a high explosive grenade down the tube and raised it above ground, taking a careful aim as he trained his sight on a group of hostiles trying to maneuver around Slayerdramon's forces.

 _"Thump!"_

The grenade landed in the middle of the group, wiping out half of the group while the other half fell on the ground, crying and wailing in pain. He chucked in another grenade and continued to take out entire assault groups on his own. He quickly switched to his DMR and laid down sniper fire, taking out leaders and dangerous digimon. He alone was able to push back the enemy right flank.

 _"This is Vulture 2-2. Hunter 5, target acquired. Coming in hot..."_ The pilot warned.

Through the intense cacophony of battle, a faint but growing rumble echoed in the sky. The rumble sounded like an incoming thunderstorm. Just out of his peripheral view, Nakagawa noticed two rapid dots soaring across the clouds. Four smoke trails launched out, heading toward the Breakdramon. The missiles struck two Breakdramon, killing one and wounding the other. The missile strikes were then followed up by a volley of 20mm rounds, wiping out a clear line through the enemy rank.

"Vulture 2-2. Good effect on multiple targets. One Lima-4 EKIA. Over."

 _"Copy that, Hunter 5. We're preparing for secondary run. Inbound... 20 seconds..."_

 _ **BRRRRRRRTTT**_

The F-35s' GAU cannon tore its targets to shreds. The heavy rounds pierced through the Breakdramon's broken armour and ripped its core. A giant fell with a cry of defeat. The multi-role jets continued to support the troops on the ground, wiping out large numbers of targets. The two remaining Breakdramon tried to swipe at the two aircrafts. The pilots deftly dodged and avoided their attacks, the jets were too small, fast and agile for these lumbering beasts.

Throughout the battle line, the coalition force was caught off guard by the D-Brigade's secondary wave. A huge influx of soldiers and materiel flooded the border. Grounds that have been retaken were shortly lost to the Metal Empire. The Sword Zone military and what remained of its command structure crumbled. Only Dorbickmon's soldiers remained standing, retreating to Camp Tolkien to refortify their defenses and make their last stand. The IDDF, DSF and Royal Knights kept fighting, buying enough time for Dorbickmon's forces to fortify the camp and for the civilians to evacuate.

The war was lost for the Sword Zone, the survival of its people now relied in the hands of the CNS, notably, ambassador Angewomon's hands.

* * *

 _Sword Zone plains, 120 klicks away from the frontline, South West of Harmony City._

Another squadron of aircrafts soared over their heads. The loud roars was ear-shattering to the civilians on the ground, hurting especially the younglings. Angewomon grimaced and uncovered her ears once the jets were a fair distance away from the line of refugees that occupied the highway.

Angewomon looked at her husband standing at the other side of the road, directing the soldiers that were tasked with protecting the refugees. Wargreymon seemed to be extremely determined to protect the civilians, knowing full well of the on-going situation at the frontline. It looked grim. Despite his hard and steely gaze, she could see through him. The worry, the desperation... fear.

The D-Brigade was advanding faster than expected. The IDDF was only able to lend off a small company of men to guide the civilians and evacuate the nearby settlements. Wargreymon has sent a few of his soldiers to other parts of the region to transmit the evacuation order.

She sighed heavily. Things have turned for the worst since she set foot here. She was about to enjoy a nice vacation with her beloved husband, only to be interrupted by a terrible war. Then there was the nuclear attack, completely shocking the entire Digital World. So many lives were lost that day, digimon and human alike, perished in less than twenty four hours. Thankfully, Wargreymon had permission to help his wife with her mission. He had been a great morale support and aid to her. To that, she smiled softly at him. He noticed it and gave her a wink. She laughed quietly.

But that was it. The small moment of respite was over. Her smile vanished as soon as a black helicopter flew in their direction. It rapidly flew over the highway and swerved to the side, the side door facing her. It slowly landed on a field about a few dozen meters away from her. Two American soldiers jumped out of the helicopter and jogged toward her. The humans wore over them wet NBC suits and a gas mask over their faces. The soldiers stood at her attention and sharply saluted her.

She saluted back curtly, her gaze avoiding their lifeless, black, single eye lenses. "What's the sitrep over there, Chief?"

"Not good, ma'am." The Chief Warrant Officer replied in a muffled voice, "About eighty percent of the city is gone. We've found no survivors so far."

"What about the fallout?"

"Extremely lethal. Most of the city has been contaminated and with the incoming storm, the wind will spread out to the nearby settlements. We've estimated that about 30 000 civilians might be affected by radiation poisoning."

"Not only that," The other soldier, a first sergeant, added, "but we can safely assume that any water source around the city is contaminated."

"Have you send any messengers to alert the local population?" She asked concernly.

"JSDF personnel are en route as we speak, ma'am. We've taken all the necessary measures we can at the moment."

Angewomon breathed out heavily. She felt relief to the sound of that news. "Thank you, chief. You have my sincerest gratitude."

"You're welcome, ma'am. We'll continue our overwatch of the situation over there. Good luck, ma'am." The human officer informed bluntly before giving a nod and turned around.

A third soldier hopped off the helicopter and ran toward them. The soldier was fully equipped in NBC proctective gear and had a handheld radio on one hand. He quickly saluted the ambassador and reported hurriedly to the chief warrant officer. The officer sounded shocked and briskly turned to her.

"Ma'am, enemy forces are approaching fast. Lastest report suggests that hundreds of air assets are flying in our direction as we speak."

"W-what?"

"Order the evacuation to pick up the pace. Double time, ma'am. We'll try to stall them as long as possible. Warn the colonel."

"What? W-wait!"

But her words fell on deaf ears as the humans ran back to the helicopter. She turned around and could see that the humans were abandonning their original posts to prepare for an upcoming battle. She couldn't even find Wargreymon. She spread her wings and lifted herself off the ground, hovering just over the lines of refugees. The few human armoured vehicles relocated to a more suited battle position. Soldiers were pulling out ammo boxes and ground-to-air counter-measures.

Wargreymon was directing a small squad of digimon troopers, possibly messengers to send an alert order to the civilians. She flew toward him, worry written all over her face.

"Colonel!" She got no response from him. "Colonel!" She tried again, louder. Still no response. "Wargreymon!"

"Yes, dear?" Wargreymon snapped out of his trance and looked at his wife curiously.

"You... you knew about this?" She asked worringly. She got a firm, silent nod from him.

"The entire D-Brigade is now upon us. You continue with the evacuation. I'll stay behind and form a defensive line." He instructed her coldly.

"Defensive line?! With that?!" She asked incredulously, pointing at the few and ill-equipped soldiers. "You guys won't last long enough without proper equipment!"

"We'll do nothing against their air force but there's an enemy vanguard coming our way. Probably a battalion-sized force maybe less, mostly light infantry. We can hold them off." He assured her, his voice brimming with confidence.

"I'm not leaving you!" She protested passionately and landing in front of her beloved husband. "Please, don't leave me like this." She pleaded, her usually calm and angelic voice cracking up a bit.

"Don't worry, honey. I'll be right behind you." He offered her a casual grin but it didn't seem to affect her this time. _"Okay, crap..."_ He thought nervously, _"Last time I pulled that off, she said yes to my proposal..."_

He approached her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He stared solemnly into her eyes... well if he could with her steel helmet on the way.

"My love, I know you're worried about me. But I promise you that everything will be fine. I need you to be strong... for me, for them..." He said while looking at the civilians,"and more importantly for us."

Angewomon let out a heavy sigh, her hands trembling with anxiety and fear. She steeled herself and stared back at her loved one. "O-okay, I will... but you better come home to me in one piece." She finally conceded.

"You know very well that I'm a mon of my words." He chuckled lightly.

She smiled softly at him and nodded. She leaned forward and gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek. He grinned back and carefully nuzzled against her cheek, prompting a shy giggle from the angel. He relunctantly retracted from his show of affection and gazed deeply into her.

"I love you, very much, Angie."

"I love you too, Red."

With one last hug, they departed and resumed with their tasks. The civilians quickened their pace in an orderly fashion, Angewomon's mere presence was enough to soothe their minds. The soldiers around them gave them a sense of security. The air was thick with tension and fear.

As the day dragged into the night, the war raged on through the storm. The frontline has changed. The entire Eastern perimeter has collapsed, a division of the D-Brigade led by Raijinmon has pierced into friendly lines and is heading for camp Tolkien. During these hectic and desperate times, the IDDF were able to evacuate all locals that resided near the frontline. A total of five hundred thousand civilians are being evacuated to the Southern border where king Shoutmon of the United Alliance Kingdoms have sent a relief force to welcome the refugees in medical camps.

* * *

 _Tokyo, Japan, October 1_ _st_ _2022._

The city of Tokyo awoke to a surprising start. Locals and tourists witnessed in awe large military convoys and troop movement heading toward one location: the Gate in Ginza District. Japan's Prime Minister, Kōji Sugawara, have delivered the day before a report of the current situation in the Digital World to the United Nations Security Council in New York. Much of the world's leaders were outraged and shocked by the Metal Empire's declaration of war and the use of a nuclear bomb.

Many have opted to nuke Fracture in response but the consequences of nuclear detonations in the Digital World could cause major problems to the Network on a worldwide scale. Sending additional troops and equipment was the primary option, with an emphasis on air superiority and firepower. They plan to ship out more than four hundred thousand soldiers and the equivalent materiel within a week.

Major highways, railways and streets have been closed down to the civilians to speed up the deployment. While the eyes of the world were fixed on the important deployment, Yamaki had another issue to care of, one that particularly disturbed him.

On his way to the Metropolitan Government Building, Yamaki's gaze were glued to the mission report sent to him by his field agents Daigo and Maki. At the driver's seat was Riley, her usual calm aura turned into a sour frown, her fingers drumming impatiently on the steering wheel while staring at the traffic jam. She closed her eyes and breathed out. She quickly turned the radio off, besides every news outlet was reporting on the major troop movement.

She glanced at her boss, eyes still glued to the extensive documents. "Finally..." She whispered when the traffic jam has been cleared. "You know..." She began slowly, "You didn't actually greeted me this morning, when I picked you up from the subway, nor a "thank you"."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry I got, uh..."

"Distracted?" She asked rhetorically, "Yeah, I noticed that since last night,"

"Really?"

"Well, you weren't paying much attention during our date." Riley reminded him.

Yamaki placed down the documents and looked at her, "I'm sorry, I truly am. But... _this_ isn't something I can ignore, Riley."

"I know, Yamaki-san..." She replied after a sigh, "Trust me, I'm as concerned as you are. The fact that we _may_ have a mole lurking among us doesn't sit well with me. It just makes you paranoid of everyone now." She admitted in a serious tone.

"Exactly. And we don't even know their motive. Money? Revenge, maybe? I just don't see any pausible motive for _that_ to happen." He said while waving the document for emphasis.

"I agree but we're not investigators, Yamaki, just governmental employees. The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Security are aware of this case. Let them handle it, they're the experts, not us."

"It's not what they want from us that worries, but how much they know about Hypnos's firewall and defensive capabilities." He explained as a matter-of-fact.

"What do you mean?"

"If they have extensive knowledge of our programs and codes, they can simply control our firewall and that gate from any terminal on this planet. I'm talking about breaches in our walls to literally summon digimon out of nowhere and cause chaos."

"And do you think that maybe they can communicate with digimon from here, on Earth?" She asked concernly.

"It's possible. And if that happened, then we can expect another invasion that can pop up at anytime, anywhere."

A heavy silence fell in the car as the realization dawned on them. It surely didn't ease their minds. Riley's grip on the steering wheel tightened suddenly, almost ruining the soft leather layer. A headache began to appear in her brain.

"Damn it..." She groaned lowly, "And here I thought I would finally have some relax time after a long tour in the Digital World. Yamaki-kun, can you give a week of leave?"

"Wait, what? You just got here, and there's plenty of work to be-" He wanted to protest but was severely cut off by Riley's stare. If looks could kill, then he would be vaporized right on the spot.

"Honey, I'm not asking you, I'm demanding you. You're smart enough to find a replacement in the meantime."

"Y-yes, dear! I'll sign your leave this afternoon!" Yamaki immediately conceded, sweating nervously and hoping to God he would live another day.

Her scowl disappeared, replaced with a cheery face with a cat-like grin. "Thanks, hun!"

* * *

Hypnos's main control room was filled with echoes of radio chatter. These were live military transmissions from the Digital World. Before the building's renovation, this room used to be the agency's computer room where they would observe, analyse, study and report of any anomalies in the Network. Now, it has become the primary source of any and all radio communications in the Digital World, like a satelite. Simply put, without it the soldiers on the ground would have to use messengers and literal pigeons to communicate with each other.

For the past few days, this room was bustling with activity and not for a good reason. With the on-going conflict in the Digital World, employees worked around the clock to record these transmissions and make sure that the whole system doesn't fry up at any moment. That also means that they have to painfully listen through a number of gruesome transmissions and soldiers' last words. It wasn't unusual for Yamaki or for most senior employees to have someone break down in tears or demand a few days of rest. Some of these recordings were disturbing and unnerving.

The door to the control room slid open, revealing a tall, pale employee. He had his dark long hair neatly tied to a low ponytail. His dark brown eyes darted across the room, searching for his superior. He held in his hands a tablet.

"Oikawa-san!" A woman called him out, "Over here!"

Yukio Oikawa looked to the voice's direction and spotted Maki Himekawa. He quickly walked to the desk she was leaning on, chatting with another employee. He stood at her attention and waited for her discussion to finish. Shortly after, she stood upright and turned to him.

"Here's the data you've requested, ma'am." Oikawa presented the tablet to her.

She took it and skimmed through the files. She nodded in approuval. "Job well done, Oikawa. Thanks a bunch."

He nodded in reply and returned to his office cubicle, quickly exiting the control room. As the door slid shut behind him, he shivered. That room always made him feel uncomfortable. What those soldiers are going through must be Hell on Earth as of now. He sighed and continued toward his desk.

Fortunately, his job didn't involve listening through military comms or intel gathering with drones. His job was much more fulfilling. Being part of the D-Scan's development team, he is responsible with compiling digimon profiles, reconfigure and update the D-Scan. It allowed him to discover the various species of the Digital World from the safety of his office. He wished to visit that world, see the different landscapes and digimon that walked in these lands. But for now, he would have to wait for a while longer.

The rest of the day went on unevenfully. Yukio Oikawa finished up his work, tidied up his desk and bid his coworkers farewell. On his way home, he stopped by a small ramen shop to grab his dinner. Arriving at his apartment building, he jogged up the staircase to his apartment. He unlocked the door, flick the lights on and let out a satisfied sigh. Now's the time to relax and enjoy some ramen and TV. He walked across the living room and went to the open kitchen to cook his dinner.

Humming a soft happy tune, he had his bowl of ramen in his hands and went to the living room's sofa. He spread his legs on the coffee table and grabbed the remote controller. Then he froze in place, his eyes staring nervously at the black screen TV. From the screen's reflection, he noticed a blonde woman leaning casually against the corridor that led to the bathroom and his bedroom. She had her arms crossed under her chest and she grinned smugly at him.

He gulped loudly, "H-How did you get here?" He asked nervously, not wanting to fully face her.

She gave him a confused look, "Huh? Are you doubting my skills as a thief?" She pushed herself off the wall and shrugged, "What can I say? Strict parents make sneaky children."

Yukio grunted and turned to her, brows burrowed in mild annoyance, "What do you want?" He asked, trying to sound confident and annoyed.

At that, the woman smirked in response. "To initiate phase two of the operation."

"What?! Like now?!" Yukio asked, completely caught off guard, "B-b-but how? The- the program isn't ready yet!"

"We know," She replied nonchalantly, "But with the current war and the fact that Hypnos and pretty much NATO are now looking for human suspects... we should start speed things up. Do you understand?"

"I-I-I don't..." He said honestly, "Have I missed something?"

She tilted her head to the side, gazing at him confusingly. "Oh right! You weren't there during the meeting-"

"Meeting?! What meeting? What the hell's going o-"

Suddenly, his jaw caught her right fist. He felt a sharp pain going through his face before falling on the floor in a heap. He held his bruised jaw and stared up in shock. The woman was now standing over him, a wicked smile graced her feature while her cold azure eyes stared down at him. He cowered in fear, backing away slowly. She grabbed him by his collar and violently yanked him up the floor so that he looked at her to eye level.

"You better tone it down, kiddo, or I'll fine another way to stitch that trap close. Do you understand?" He nodded with a whimper, "Good..." She let go of him, letting him drop back on the floor, "As I was saying, the boss has made some _modifications_ to our plan. We're going to assault Hypnos and destroy it from the inside."

"How?"

"Simple: we need the plans of their HQ and the locations of five of its important members."

His eyes grew wide, "N-no..."

"The boss wants all the intel in 76 hours." She instructed him bluntly, making her way to the apartment's door, "And don't disappoint him... or else he'll send the Russian."

With that final warning, she quietly closed the door behind her, leaving Yukio in the living room alone, in silence, as the situation came down on him like a warhammer.

"...DAMNIT!"


	12. Far from Home

Chapter 12:

Far From Home

 _Camp Tolkien, Sword Zone, October 2nd 2022._

The headquarter's windows tremble as another artillery barrage boomed in the camp. Human aircrafts zoomed above the base, soaring toward the frontline. Helicopters flew in to drop off supplies and the wounded. The control room was painfully buzzing with numerous radio transmissions coming through the line by various units. The bulk of the D-Brigade invasion force was now at their doorstep, merely five kilometers away.

Camp Tolkien now stood as Sword Zone's last bastion before they could pour through the rest of the zone. Colonel Dorbickmon was putting up a stiff resistance, keeping Raijinmon's forces at bay, for now.

With the sudden surge of D-Brigade reinforcements and aerial attacks, the coalition force was cut to pieces and spread thin. Major units were now cut off from supplies. Examon and Alphamon's task force along with their allies were surrounded at Autumn's Bridge, defending desperately the strategic objective. Dukemon and Slayerdramon's battalion were slowly retreating back to Tolkien, fighting their way through the enemy line. Rhodoknightmon was leading a relief force for them but Duftmon hasn't heard from him for about six hours.

Omegamon and the rest of the Order's military were a day away from the camp, moving as quickly as possible. The defenders are mounting up a desperate stand and are rallying up whatever available soldier they can find. Despite his and Dorbickmon's best efforts, he estimated that their defenses would crumble in a few days at best. Omegamon's relief force should be the tipping point in this war but for now, they would have to wait a day longer.

The camp shook violently as the enemy responded with airstrikes. Bombs and missiles pounded the base, taking out several artillery pieces and buildings. Fire and black smoke started to spread around the base. Human mobile AA guns lit up the rainy night sky with green and red strobes, eliminating a couple of hostile aerial digimon.

"Lieutenant Fairimon!" Duftmon called out to his transmissions officer, "Did you manage to get through Rhodoknightmon yet?"

"Negative, sir!" She replied, "Our comms are going down. The enemy must have deployed jammers around our vicinity. In addition, the nuke may have done some damage as well." She reported as a matter-of-fact.

"Is it possible to send in messengers then?"

"It's risky, but I'll see with Commander Grani if he could lend off some of his scouts," She replied, "But no promises there."

"Do what you can, lieutenant."

A Knightchessmon rushed in the control room, a folded letter in one hand. He made his way toward Duftmon and saluted him formally despite the urgency of the situation.

"Sergeant Knightchessmon!" He introduced himself "Message from Captain AeroVeedramon, sir!" He informed the Royal Knight while handing out the letter.

Duftmon took the piece of paper. It read: _"Getting overrun. Requesting artillery strike on my position. Won't hold much longer. Tell my family I love them..."_

"Damn it..." Duftmon swore under his breath, "Do you have his coordinates?"

"Yes sir!"

He stalled for a moment to gather his thoughts. The battle has gotten south from the start: their forces were in disarray, they're sustaining heavy casualties, flanked by the enemy from all sides and the final defensive line was on the verge of collapse. The tactician hated to admit to himself but the situation speaks for itself: they're losing this fight. The next logical plan of action is to retreat, regroup and rethink of a counter-offensive.

"Sergeant, you have my authorization to commence the fire mission." He coldly replied.

The chess piece digimon grimly nodded. He saluted and left the room, galloping to the artillery batteries near the airfield. Just then, Colonel Dorbickmon entered the busy control room in a hurry.

"Duftmon! I need you to assemble a Strike team asap! Wargreymon needs reinforcements and he won't last long enough." The crimson dragon ordered.

Duftmon quietly nodded and quickly made his way to the Order's barracks, which was just a few hundred meters away from the camp's HQ. As he stepped outside the building, the artillery cannons boomed once again, sending light tremors across the base. He could feel his bones quake while his digicore beat rapidly with the increase surge of adrenaline in his streams.

Crossing the muddy roads to the barracks, he made a mental note to clean his armour after the battle's over. The heavy raining has indeed proven to be a nuissance for both sides in terms of logistics, in both air and ground movements.

In the distance, he spotted Lieutenant Darcmon, assembling her platoon and preparing for deployment. He tried to call her out by was interrupted by the loud chorus of air sirens. He halted in his tracks and observed the dark grey clouds. Barely visible, he could see multiple black dots flying in their direction. And they were flying fast.

Stationary and mobile AA guns opened up, lighting the sky with a shower of green and red strobes. Thousands of rounds soared at the incoming enemy air support. The hostile aerial digimon broke formation and initiated evasive maneuvers while closing in toward the camp.

"Lieutenant Darcmon!" He shouted at her, catching the officer's attention. "On me! Take out those targets before they hit the camp!" He ordred sternly before deploying his wings and lifted off the ground.

With the feathers dampened by the rain, flying was harder than usual. He felt as if he was carrying additional and useless weights on his back. Nevertheless, he pushed on, Darcmon's platoon following behind him.

"Do not let them reach the camp! Clear the sky and protect the airfield!" He ordered.

"Roger that!" Darcmon replied, "Alpha squad and Beta squad, spread to the flanks! Gamma squad, hold the rear and defend the airfield. Clear?"

"Yes lieutenant!" They replied in unison.

"Move out and engage!"

The Strike force fired a volley of ranged attacks as they closed in on the enemy. The enemy air force was fast and agile, managing to dodge most attacks but losing two of its members to the AA guns from the ground. The enemy force responded, firing back as they soared across the skies at high speeds.

"Ernste Welle!" Duftmon shouted, firing a bright energy beam from the tip of his rapier.

The beam slammed into a Thunderbirdmon and Mailbirdramon, killing the former and wounding the other. He sped forward, gaining more speed while he poised the rapier for a thrust attack. As the Mailbirdramon slowly recovered from the attack, the Royal Knight charged at him at full speed. The mechanical dragon was too slow to react. The rapier pierced through his armour and rammed into his digicore.

The digimon exploded into a cloud of data particles. Duftmon turned around and noticed that most of the enemy air force ignored him and the platoon. They evaded their attacks, quickly approaching the camp's air space. He cursed and chased after a Pteranomon that flew below him.

He launched a series of ranged attacks, trying to slow them down but to no avail. Darcmon's troopers were able to decimate the enemy force but they were still outnumbered, too slow to engage multiple targets at the same time. Then all of the sudden, the aerial targets fired a barrage of missiles. A shower of thick trails of white smoke raced toward the camp. The hostiles broke formation and changed direction, flying away from the battlefield. A few sped past the camp, dropping bombs along the way.

"INCOMING!"

"SPREAD OUT! SPREAD OUT!"

"HIT THE DECK!"

But there were no loud explosions. Instead, the missiles and bombs either detonated in mid-air or erupted on impact. A large, hazy yellow-ish cloud envelopped the whole camp. Duftmon's eyes were wide open in shock after he abruptly stopped in his tracks. The menacing yellow cloud rolled in the camp... then a series of shouts, screams and cries erupted across the base. All activity have ceased, the artillery guns fell silent. The soldiers on the ground... were enduring to most painful and most lethal death imaginable.

"GAS! GAS! GAS!"

He could see soldiers, human and digimon alike, choking and desperately searching for breathable air. They coughed, vomited and cried. Then they started to drop like flies, one at a time, the troops on the ground coughed out blood and bled through every orifices. Their cries and wails for help echoed deep in Duftmon's skull. He spotted a couple of human soldiers equipped with gas masks, trying their best to help others but to no avail. Their deaths were quick but brutal.

As the toxic cloud rolled toward the airfield, the humans quickly evacuated the area by air. All helicopters and aircrafts left the runway. The last of the helicopters barely dodged the gas cloud, those who didn't make it suffered the same brutal fate as their previous comrades. An eerie silence reigned over the camp, camp Tolkien has stopped functioning, leaving the D-Brigade force enough time to rush forward without the impending threat of artillery barrages.

"Sir! Sir! What are your orders?" Darcmon demanded urgently, "Orders, sir!"

Duftmon snapped out of his trance and looked at her, "Regroup your platoon and defend our air space. Take out any hostile air or ground elements. Do not let them breach the perimeter."

"Roger that. You heard him, move out!"

The tactician stared at the HQ. The gas hasn't reached up, staying for the moment at ground level. With a shaky breath, he flew to the HQ building, searching for Dorbickmon and making sure that he and his staff survived the attack.

* * *

 _Autumn's Bridge._

Kudo silently trained his sight at the approaching enemy soldiers. The D-Brigade infantry slowing and cautiously climbed the hill, crawling toward the Marine platoon that hid behind the thick foliages, trees and rock formations. Leaves were being shuffled around, branches snapped under their footfalls. But with the heavy rain and fog that rolled into the battlefield, both audio and visual capabilities were impaired. Pinpointing the exact number of the opposition force was hard. The Marines could only observe faint silhouettes.

Just a couple of feet to his right, Kyle had his M240B machine gun rested on a fallen tree trunk, aiming down the ACOG and regulating his breathing cycle. Another branch snapped, this time closer than expected.

Right in front of him, a digimon's head bobbed up and down, marching toward him without noticing the humans. With a clear line of sight and a positive ID of his target, Kudo pulled the trigger, letting off a three-round burst into the digimon. A crimson mist erupted from it before it fell down the hill.

Immediately after, all guns erupted from both sides. The Marines had the advantage, taking out the first line of enemy troops. The hostiles let out a battle cry that echoed through the battlefield. They were soon drowned out by artillery and mortar fire. The ground trembled violently as the continuous barrages blew whole chunks of the earth, pounding the enemy with high explosive shells.

However they braved through the shelling and small arms fire, running uphill and overwhelming the humans.

"We're getting overrun! Open fire at two hundred meters away from our position!" The platoon sergeant yelled into his radio.

The heavy support guns readjusted their aim. Meanwhile the mortar teams responded with continuous streams of HE rounds. Digimon were flung in the air, gunned down and dismembered by the combined shower of rounds and shells. Yet they still kept coming closer.

"Fire a hundred meters closer!" Staff Sergeant Beckers requested urgently. "Lieutenant! We're going to need more men up here!"

Across the perimeter that formed around the bridge, the coalition force was engaging D-Brigade units on all fronts. Browning's platoon managed a few hours ago to capture and hold the hill opposite of the Japanese platoon, securing contigent's northern and eastern perimeter. Unfortunately, being the most forward strategic point of the battlefield, the enemy would throw everything at them to retake it.

Completely surrounded, the humans on the ground relied heavily on air supply runs and artillery support. An improvised landing zone was established on the western perimeter. The LZ soon proved to be too hot after the recent surge of enemy reinforcements, the helicopters were exposed to enemy fire from the mountain range. To the South, Alphamon and Examon's task forces tried to push through the enemy line and clear an escape route. The black knight was expecting Rhodoknightmon's relief force but lost contact three hours ago.

Captain Raymond scanned the lines from the bridge, planning out his next course of action. With the D-Brigade approaching fast from the west, he needed to secure the dry trench line located down the valley. That trench line was vital, however he didn't have enough men to send and secure it. He looked at the remaining vehicles around the bridge. He would need speed and firepower if he wants the trench secured and under their control.

"Sullivan!" He hollered over, "Get me Captain Hayes! Now!"

The first lieutenant nodded and jogged to find the company commander. He shortly returned with Captain Hayes, CO of B company 1st Battalion of the 24th Infantry Regiment, and his radio transmitter. The officer seemed to be disturbed by the on-going chaos but gave his full attention nonetheless.

"Just got visual confirmation from the Japs about heavy enemy troop movement from the west. I'm going to need you to secure that trench line down there, about four hundred meters." He requested while pointing at the correct direction. "We're going to need to hold that line if we want to keep our LZ untouched."

"Got it but I'm going to need some of my Strykers with me. Do you think you can hold up on your end?" Hayes asked concernly

"We'll be fine," Raymond reassured him, "Good luck." He added with a pat on his shoulder.

"You too, brother" Hayes nodded back, "B company! On me!" He bellowed sternly.

"Sullivan, stay with second and fourth platoons."

"Copy, skipper!"

"Porter, muster third platoon and move out to reinforce first platoon!"

"You heard the skipper! Third platoon on me!" The Gunnery-Sergeant hollered gruffly.

Third platoon followed Raymond's lead, crossing the bridge, by passing the tanks and Strykers before climbing up the hill where First platoon held their ground. Along the way, he could see corpsmen and Marines carrying the wounded to the casualty collection point set near the Komatsu LAVs. He gave gave them a solemn nod. They replied with the same gesture as they continued their trek down to the collection point.

Upon nearing the hill top, a volley of shells whistled above their heads before coming down and pounding the enemy force. Raymond thankfully had his ear protections on, or else he would've certaintly been deaf by the intensity and frequency of the bombardments and firefights.

"Friendlies coming in! Watch your six!" He warned loudly, catching Browning's attention.

The Marines of Third platoon joined in the defense and spread out, giving First platoon the much needed extra firepower. The company commander and Third platoon's leader, Second Lieutenant Raul Rivera, joined him to get the sitrep briefing.

"Captain, we're taking too much enemy fire. Where's our relief force?" Browning asked concernedly.

"They're in the same mess as we are. The Royal Knights are doing their best to relink with them. They're about two miles away from our position." He reassured him confidently, "Just keep fighting and do not let them take over this hill. Oorah?"

"Oorah, skipper." The lieutenant nodded tiredly.

"Rivera, get a machine gun team to our left flank, facing the road. The Japs will need the extra firepower as well."

"Roger, captain. Russell! Get your team up! On me!" Rivera beckoned while standing up, ignoring some of the stray projectiles that buzzed by him.

With the extra firepower provided by Third platoon, the Marines were able to hold off the first enemy wave.

Meanwhile, with Captain Shiba's company on the other side of the road, the JSDF soldiers were being suppressed by enemy fire from all sides. From the mountain ranges to the North-West, enemy artillery and other heavy ranged attacks pounded the hill, covering the troops that were descending to the trench line. From the road to the North and North-East, a large concentration of enemy cavalry and infantry rushed toward them and the Abrams tanks. And from the South, they were an open and a priority target to enemy sniper fire and mortar shelling.

Rika's squad regrouped and rained down a hail of rounds down the hill, stalling the enemy's progress. Grenadiers fired a salvo of high explosive grenades in the tight clusters of enemy troops. The explosions blew them apart, the sharpnels ripped their flesh and pierced their armour. Cries of agony were drowned out by the ferocious screams and intense gunshots.

"Uchida! Cover our right flank!" Rika hollered coarsely, "They're flanking us!"

Private First Class Uchida shifted position and switched to his M320 grenade launcher. He popped a 40mm HE round in the chamber and took a careful aim at a squad of hostiles creeping up from the right.

 _Thump_

The grenade round flew in an almost straight line, bursting on impact between two enemy soldiers. The consequent detonation tore the squad apart, lighting up one in flames. The digimon screamed and frantically rolled on the ground. It was later shot by another Japanese trooper.

Rika hid behind a tree, crouched down and reloading her rifle. While doing so, she quickly scanned down the hill, spotting two hostiles covering in a crater. She took a M67 frag grenade, pulled the pin and hurled it at the crater. Startled, the digimon rushed out of the crater, unknowingly exposing themselves to her. She fired two short bursts, their bodies dropped heavily, blood pooling under them.

She snapped her sights at an incoming squad, only to be suppressed by a salvo of machine gun fire and bolts .

"Fuck!" She swore, panting heavily.

The tree she leaned on began to snap to pieces, the rounds ripping and digging it apart. She dropped to her stomach and quickly crawled to a nearby foxhole. She dragged herself through the mud, sharp gravel and thick layers of dead leaves. She heaved and huffed, her nose fuming while her muscles ached. She mentally fought through the pain and exhaustion, her natural instinct of self-preservation was overtaken by her fighting spirit born and crafted by being a Tamer and soldier.

Reaching Hamano's foxhole, she rolled into the muddy dug cover and rested but for a second to catch her breath. The marksman continued to lay down suppressive fire, pinning the hostiles at the foothill, ignoring his squad leader. She took her small moment of respite to check her ammunation. She groaned in frustration; she was down to two magazines, the second being fed into her rifle. She would soon fight with her "trusty" sidearm: the Minebea P9.

She pushed herself up to her feet and joined Hamano, firing in semi-auto at her targets. "Got any mags to spare, Hamano-san?" She asked while firing.

He fetched through his body armour's pouches two 20-round box magazines, "I've only managed to scavenged these two, sergeant." He explained bluntly.

"Good enough for me. Thanks a bunch." She replied gratefully, setting them next to her rifle.

A continuous and thunderous roar could be heard across the clouds. It grew louder by the second. She looked up, trying to spot the unidentified aircraft.

 ** _BRRRRRRRRRTTTT_**

Cheers erupted along the line. A shower of 30mm rounds rippled through the enemy wave. The hostiles ducked for the ground, fearing the sky as an A-10 Thunderbolt zoomed over there heads. Another roar of the Warthog's autocannon shattered the sky. The second attack jet wooshed past friendly lines, eliminating hostile cavalry and armoured targets. Two more A-10s soared above the battlefield, dropping cluster bombs on the enemy. The cluster munitions exploded mid-fall, releasing a shower of submunitions upon the unprotected enemy. It was brutally effective. Enemy units started to break apart and retreated, losing their morale and will to fight.

The two duos of ground-attack aircrafts circled around for a second gun run. Flying in their general direction, the men on the ground immediately ducked for cover, waiting anxiously for the aircrafts to open fire.

 ** _BRRRRRRRRTTTTT_**

Streams of high caliber rounds hit the earth, striking multiple targets and narrowly missing friendly units on the ground. They continued forward, soaring in the air before breaking their line formation and spread out to the sides, circling around for a third and last gun run.

"Hurry, lads! Move out!"

"Charge!"

The D-Brigade soldiers roared, rushing out of cover and charging up the hill. The humans opened fire, mowing them down by the dozens. With the aircrafts still in the air, the artillery support was temporarily postponed, giving the enemy enough breathing room to advance and maneuver around the muddy slope. Sporatic firefights erupted across the line. The invaders were relentless with their assault, quickly gaining ground while suffering heavy losses.

"Aargh!" Hamano fell beside Rika, coughing and cursing, "Crap! I'm hit!"

"Man down!" Rika shouted, laying down suppressive fire until someone else would come to inspect Hamano and treat the wound if necessary.

Ryo answered her call. He vault over the rock formation and slid down the slope, reaching their foxhole. He hopped in and crawled down. "Where are you hit?" He asked while probbing his body armour for any exit wounds.

"L-left ribs..." Hamano groaned, hissing and closing his eyes.

The Leading Private looked at it. Their was a sizeable hole indeed but the round didn't punch through the kevlar plate by some miracle. Ryo chuckled and gave him a friendly tap on the helmet.

"You're fine, bud. You've got plot armour somehow." He joked with a grin.

"I don't feel fine." The marksman replied dryly, opening his eyes and probbing his chest to feel any gunshot wounds. As expected, his left ribs stung like a bitch but his fingers were clear of any bloodstains. "Motherfucker... that hurts a lot."

"Can you still breathe?" Ryo asked in a more serious tone.

Hamano took in deep breaths and felt something move unnaturally while doing so. He felt like one of his ribs cracked and felt loose in his body. He shook his head. Ryo turned to his squad leader, still busy fighting off the enemy.

"Sergeant! I see no visible wound but he does have some difficulty to breathe," He reported, "Should we evacuate him?"

She glanced a critical eye at him before refocusing behind her red dot sight, "Are you kidding me?! Under enemy fire?" She asked rhetorically, "You think you can you still fight, Hamano?"

"Yes sergeant, I'm right-handed thankfully," He replied, self-composed.

"Then stand up and fight, trooper!" She encouraged him, "These tin cans won't give up themselves."

Ryo nodded at him and handed him the DMR. He then joined the duo, taking a position next to Rika.

"Left flank! Hostiles coming up real fast!" Okitsu hollered, drawing the LAV gunner's attention.

The Browning M2 machine gun turret swiveled around and let off a stream of 12.7mm rounds at the slew of enemy soldiers, shredding them apart and spilling their guts on the ground.

"Heads down!" Hongo yelled.

"Hit the deck!" Rika shouted at her men.

They all ducked behind cover and tucked their heads under their arms, waiting anxiously for the close air support. The A-10s first fired a volley of autocannons before launching a series of missiles and dropping more cluster bombs once on top of their targets. The world rocked around her, she felt her very bones vibrate intensely, her heart rate was beating as fast as a machine gun's rate of fire. Though the deadly air strike lasted less than a minute, it felt like an eternity for the soldiers on the ground of both sides.

Once the aircrafts zoomed off to the horizon and veering away from the battlefield, the enemy quickly got back to its feet and charged one last time, using the small window of opportunity to close the gap and face the humans head on. They have barely less than five dozen meters to cross and the humans were quick on the draw... but not quick enough.

"Incoming!" Ryo shouted urgently, firing bursts at multiple targets.

The first row of hostiles dropped dead, while the second row rushed in, melee weapons drawn and pounced at the trio of humans. Ryo thrusted his bayonet fixed rifle, plunging the blade into a Commandramon's stomach. Rika bashed a Sealsdramon across his face with the butt of her rifle. She quickly whipped out her sidearm and poured four shots into another enemy soldier.

A Weregarurumon pounced on Hamano, knocking his rifle off his hand and throwing him in the mud. He struck the digimon twice in the face before striking his abdomen with his left knee. The bipedal canine lost balance and doubled over, coughing. Hamano shoved him on his back and drew out his combat knife, poised for a vertical stab. The enemy soldier caught the blade in his right hand, quite literally. The blade penetrated his palm, blood gushed onto his face. He howled in pain and swiftly grabbed the man's throat with his left hand, snarling and growling savagely.

Rika finished off her opponent with a headshot, the digimon's skull cracked open and spilled blood and brain matter all over her uniform. She grimaced but immediately turned to Hamano, strangled by the werewolf digimon. She aimed for his head but he quickly noticed and shoved Hamano to the side, shielding himself with the human.

She swore and rushed at them. Weregarurumon lifted Hamano off him and hurled him at her. She caught her squadmate in mid-action, stumbling backwards. The digimon forcefully kicked them back on the ground. They fell on the mud in a heap. Her lungs were empited by the kick's force and Hamano's weight on her. She quickly shoved him to the side drew out her sidearm, firing at Weregarurumon at point blank range. She emptied the entire magazine into him. He fell heavily on the ground, his torso drilled with bullet holes.

"Fucking die!" Ryo screamed, repeatedly stabbing a Sealsdramon's back. He kept hacking at the dissipating corpse, splashing himself in blood and mud.

The squad leader violently yanked him away from the dead digimon and held on to him in a tight chokehold. "Snap out of it, Ryo!" She scolded him sternly, "It's fucking dead already!"

She tightened her hold around his throat, managing to calm and snap him out of his frenzied state. He lightly tapped at her arm around his neck, prompting her to let him go. "You good?" She asked sincerely. He nodded back with a wince, clearly dazed and shocked at himself. "All right. Pick up your rifle and carry Hamano out of here, we're pulling back."

"FALL BACK!" Hongo ordered firmly, "FALL BACK TO THE TOP!"

The entire company started to trail up the hill, where the two LAVs provided cover fire. Being caught in hand-to-hand combat, Hongo had to call back his entire platoon before they could be overrun and wiped out by another wave of enemy troops coming from the road. The Abrams tanks were currently rolling back, firing off shells and machine gun rounds to keep some distance.

The hill was lost to them and so was the main road. Soon they'll be outgunned and overpowered by enemy reinforcements. They were running low on supplies and ammo; if they kept fighting, they would surely end up fighting with their bare hands.

The fight for the trench line was a success but a slaughter for Hayes's company. The western front was now secured but enemy units were starting to trinkle in from the South, slipping by Alphamon's forces.

Raymond scanned the battlefield with a frown. Their northern line was on the brink of collapsing. Hostiles were coming from the South. The casualty collection point and LZ were about to be overrun and the artillery batteries couldn't open fire since the lines were now mixed in with enemies and friendlies. This calls in for one final but drastic solution.

"Darrack!" He called his radio transmitter, "Get me in contact with Warlord."

Darrack nodded, "Warlord, Warlord, this Alpha-Actual. How copy? Over."

 _"Alpha-Actual, this is Warlord. Copy foer out of five. Over."_

The radio transmitter handed the phone to his company commander, "Warlord, this Alpha-Actual. Requesting fire mission code: "Thunder Spear" on our position. Danger close. I say again: requesting fire mission code "Thunder Spear". Danger close. Over."

 _"Alpha-Actual, Warlord. Standby for request confirmation. Over."_

* * *

 _Camp Dawnstar GHQ._

"Thunder Spear?" An American intelligence officer asked Lieutenant-General Yamamoto.

"Yes. A term we created which means that a friendly unit is being overrun, requesting all available combat aircrafts for support." The high ranking officer answered before nodding at the radio trnasmitter.

"Warlord, this is Overlord. Thunder Spear confirmed. Over."

"Where does the call come from?" The American asked.

"From a joint contigency located up North, at Autumn's Bridge."

The intelligence officer looked down at the map and shook his head, "My God... There's no hiding it now..."

On the map, representing the current frontline at Sword Zone, were two colored markers. Blue markers represented friendly units' positions while the reds showed confirmed and hypothesized enemy positions. From the looks of it, most blue markers were surrounded by a sea of reds. Camp Tolkien was represented by a small green Monopoly house. There, the camp was being surrounded by six enemy units, estimated to be the size of battalions or regiments or a total of between five to ten thousand enemy soldiers.

"What's the status report with Captain Yanagida?" Yamamoto demanded.

"Second Company has arrived at the refugee evacuation site about half an hour ago," A Japanese lieutenant answered while reading through the report, " they still haven't made contact with the ambassador yet but refugees started to trinkle in, the rest should be present soon, sir."

"Any signs of the embedded reporters?"

"Negative, sir."

Yamamoto pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He perked up and turned to the American, "We need to find them before we launch operation "Hades' Chariot"." Yamamoto explained. "Don't want us to get wind up in some bad press if they witness it once it is launched. Tell the company commander to send a recon element and find them." The junior officer nodded sharply, recontacting the company and issued out the order. "Is your team ready, McKinley?"

The American agent grinned confidently and nodded, "Just get us in the right direction and we'll get it done, general."

* * *

 _Locomon Station 280-A-23, 1836 hours, four clicks South East of Sword Zone._

The civilian railway station turned into an active military FOB in under three hours. Soldiers from the JSDF and the US Army commandeered the station and the transport Locomon as supply and evacuation trains. Being the senior field officer present, Captain Yanagida supervised the operation and process of transforming a civilian building into an effective military camp.

Currently waiting on four of the six rails available were the Locomon assigned with evacuating Sword Zone's refugees and Ambassador Angewomon. Waiting behind in the station were the men of first platoon led by an ambitious and young officer, Second Lieutenant Kaito. Yanagida took initiative to search for the refugees by helicopter. He requested three Chinooks for this expedition, enough to carry the injured, sick and VIPs.

Second and Third platoons were about to finish up their convoy's preparation, tasked to rendez-vous with the refugees, hopefully, halfway in their journey to pick up the rest. The long column composed of several dozens of APCs, IFVs and transport trucks. They estimated it would be enough to carry at least 70% of the refugees, but that could change depending on the civilians' size and shape. The humans were not adequately equipped for these types of operations. Civilian extraction has always been a huge logistical and equipment problem that the IDDF couldn't solve normally.

Two squadrons of Mitsubishi F-2s soared above their heads, their terrifying roars echoed loudly across the fields as the multirole fighters flew toward the frontline. Following just behind were three CH-47J Chinooks and two squadrons of AH-1S attack helicopters.

 _"Okami-Actual, this is Pegasus 2-1, coming in hot to your four o'clock. How copy? Over."_ Yanagida's headset buzzed into his ears.

"Pegasus 2-1, Okami-Actual, Lima-Charlie. Over." He replied calmly, signalling Kaito to muster his platoon and prepare themselves.

 _"Okami-Actual, Pegasus 2-1. Glad you could make it, Cap."_ The pilot stated casually, _"Got intel that things are pretty hot down there but we'll make sure to get your guys as close to the refugees as possible."_

"Copy, Pegasus 2-1. Thanks for the heads-up."

 _"Anytime, Okami-Actual. Out."_

The attack helicopters hovered above the station while one of the Chinooks made its slow descent toward the ground. The large camouflaged bird landed a small distance away from the station's parking. Lieutenant Kaito led and guided his men toward the transport helicopter. The rear gunner jumped down the rear ramp and greeted the captain with a crisp salute.

"Sorry for being late, captain, but we've got a lot of wounded to carry around," The gunner explained loudly over the whirlwind of the two rotorblades.

"That's fine, Master Sergeant, I know it got pretty hectic over there." Yanagida replied with empathy, "Tell me, what's the situation at the frontline?" He asked while boarding the loading ramp.

"Frontline? Hell, captain, it's a fucking mess," The gunner answered frankly, swinging the M240 pintle-mounted machine gun back in place, "They managed to breach through our left flank, making a b-line for camp Tolkien," He sat with a heavy sigh, "Frankly, sir, the situation's fubar. Our last update was that the enemy are deploying toxic gas."

Yanagida sat down in silence, looking down at his feet blankly as the grim reality of the situation dawned on him. Intel didn't mention any of this. The helicopter lurched up abruptly, hovering off the ground before swirving toward the Sword Zone border.

 _"Overlord, this is Ironhide 8-4. We are inbound toward our next objective. ETA: eight mikes. Over ."_

 _Seven minutes later..._

 _"One minute..."_ The Chinook's pilot announced to Yanagida.

"Copy, one minute." He replied.

 _"Ironhide 8-4, this is Pegasus 3-1, be advised: we will break formation from here. God speed and good luck to you. Out."_

The second squadron of attack helicopters veered off to the side and changed the direction, leaving the Chinooks and the other squadron. From his seat, Yanagida could here distant cannon fire and explosions. The battlefield seemed to be closer than expected.

 _"Okami-Actual, this is Pegasus 2-1. I've got visual on the refugees. A hundred meters away from the LZ. Over."_

"Copy that, Pegasus 2-1. Over and Out." He shut the radio off and faced Kaito, "Once we land, form up a perimeter and start to identify the wounded and injured first. Remember that the ambassador is our top priority. Got it?" Kaito nodded in response.

 _"Twenty seconds..."_

 _"Ten seconds..."_

 _"Three... Two... one... zero..."_

The helicopter jumped abruptly upon landing. The soldiers jogged out of the cargo compartment and fanned out accordingly, forming a semi-circular firing line. Yanagida knelt down in the middle of the formation, having a visual of every personnel under his command. He beckoned the men to move out and follow him.

They ran out of the rotorblades' tornado of dirt and dust and jogged toward the weary and exhausted civilians, relieved and happy to see soldiers coming to their rescue. The humans spread out and began to commit to their task: identifying the badly hurt, provide first aid treatment before guiding them to the Chinooks.

As Kaito was guiding his men, he heard a female voice beckoning him from behind. He turned around and was face-to-face with a tall angelic woman. The officer was completely awestruck that he simply stared at her with an agaped mouth.

"Excuse me, sir." She called out louder.

Her voice snapped him out of his trance. He took another quick look at her and immediately recognized the digimon. "I'm sorry... Are you ambassador Angewomon?" He asked unsurely, lightly blushing from his previous behaviour.

"Y-yes..." She confirmed with a shaky voice, "Listen, I need your help. My husband needs-"

"Do not worry, ma'am. The medic will surely take care of him once he finds hi-"

"No you don't understand," She cut in abruptly, "My husband... he is a very important officer of the Republic of Node military. He's currently with a small detachment of soldiers as the rear guard. Please! You need to help them!" She pleaded frantically.

Kaito raised his hands in a placative manner, trying to understand, "Okay, ma'am, I know you're stressed but I need you to run by me one more time: who is your husband and what rear guard?"

Yanagida oversaw the procedure, nervously glacing at his wristwatch while the soldiers escorted the injured and wounded into the helicopters. He couldn't waste any additional time for his mission required a tight schedule and speed, time was the enemy in this scenario.

"Captain!"

He spun around and spotted Kaito with Angewomon tailing behind him. From the look of her face, he could tell that something must be urgent. " _Not good"_ , He thought dreadfully to himself.

"What can I help you with, ma'am?" He asked as soon as they were at an earshot distance.

"My husband, he needs your help, captain-"

"Is he among them? Does he need immediate medical assistance?"

"No... he is with a few hundred soldiers, about twelve kilometers away from here. Acting as the rear guard..." From Yanagida's face, she could tell that he was reluctant and about to reject her request.

"Sir, she informed me that less than a hundred men are with him," Kaito explained as a matter-of-fact, "Personel from the US Army, CBRN experts... they won't last any longer without support."

"I know I'm asking you and your men alot, captain, but _they_ won't last much longer without any support. I... I just want to see my husband back!" Angewomon begged desperately.

Yanagida pondered, his mind conflicted. If there really was a rear guard, than it will be no short of a miracle that they are still alive by the time they get to them. Going in to exfiltrate presents a lot of risks. Firstly, half of the country is already crawling with D-Brigade forces, he and his men are **not** equipped to fend off any hostile encounter. Secondly, if they were indeed a few hundred survivors (which he highly doubt), then he would need the helicopters, thus denying the more needed civilians of their uses. And finally, if they were to swoop in by air, they would be a large target for themselves and the escort helicopters.

That said, he knew that he couldn't leave them behind. Command needed more soldiers on the frontline and if he must be sent over there afterwards, might as well take the initiative and start helping.

Moments later, he was making his way toward the Chinook while he contacted and updated _Overlord_ of his situation.

 _"You do understand the risks you're taking, captain?"_

"Yes, sir and I'm taking full responsibility and answer to any sanctions." He replied bluntly.

 _"That won't be necessary, captain, we need more men out there but you're not fully equipped nor in condition to take on an invasion force."_

"I know, Overlord, but we need them alive than dead." He answered, confident and determined with his choice, "I'm just requesting an airstrike in return and bomb the enemy to hell."

 _"Understood. You have thirty mikes to extract the rear guard and evacuate the area. We will bomb the designated zone, with or without. Is that clear, captain?"_

"Crystal clear, Overlord."

 _"Very well. Good luck and may God help you."_

* * *

 _Unknown location..._

A wave of cold water hit Itami, waking him up sharply and in a shivering state. His "caretakers" unbound him from his bed, which was a camping cot with a thin mattress. They forcefully pulled him to his feet, shoved a damp potato sack over his head and dragged him out of his cell.

For the past few days, or weeks... he couldn't really tell, this has been his routine wake-up call. Since his capture, the enemy has been ruthless with him. First they beat him up to the ground, showing no sign of mercy. They then started to waterboard and shock him, followed by more beatings. As expected, they wanted answers and intel; he gave them none. He only gave them his first and last names, rank and military serial number. Of course, this only angered them further more. The beatings got more frequent, the tortures were psychologically more brutal: they would either wake him up at odd hours by throwing cold water at him or make loud noises such as knocking at his door or banging two metallic poles on the walls.

Despite the mental and physical torture, he didn't break. After maybe 48 or 72 hours into the harsh treatment, his captors decided to take another approach. First up, they started to feed him and allowed him to have a steady supply of water. They made the right choice of adding a functional toilet and a working bathroom sink. That being said and done, the beatings, waterboardings and shock therapy sessions didn't end. They were just more... _forgiving_.

Itami was brought to his usual interrogation room. Like any typical interrogation room, it was pretty small and sparce of any furnitures other than the table and two chairs. A simple lightbulb hung loosely on the ceiling above the table.

His "caretakers" pushed him down to his seat. They bound him to a chain link to the floor and swiftly took off the sack, blinding him with the bright lightbulb. He had to blink several times to adapt to the light and ignore the numbing headache.

"Did you sleep well?" A familiar voice asked him.

"Could use some improvement from the staff..." Itami replied sarcastically, staring blankly back at his interrogator, Mercuremon.

"I'll take that as a yes," Mercuremon stated, ignoring the human's remark, "Now let us begin our usual session. Shall we, lieutenant Itami?"

Itami merely replied a roll of his eyes.

"Excellent..." The Mercuremon bent down on the side to fetch a piece of document and laid it out on the table so he could read it as well, "Since we last left off... we haven't made much progress. So I decided to go on a different route..." He said as a matter-of-fact and pointed at the document, "I've done some research about you, lieutenant and I must say, I'm quite surprised that there isn't much about you or your military career. Now why is that?" He asked rhetorically.

The human answered with a casual shrug. This ticked one of this caretakers. The Cyberdramon to his left suddenly slammed his head against the table's surface, sending a jolt of pain into his growing and numbing headache.

"Right, since getting any information from you isn't going to work," Mercuremon continued nonchalantly, "Let's try something else... Do you know what is happening out there?"

Itami's confused face was all the answer he needed. A faint smirk etched itself onto his glassy, eyeless face before it vanished a second later. "Okay, let me break it down to you, piece by piece..." He leaned forward and pointed at the document, "You've been imprisonned here for almost a week now and during that period of time a lot has happened; namely the fact that two nuclear warheads went off in the Metal Empire and in the Sword Zone."

"W-what?"

"Whatever it is that you and your men were trying to accomplish that night has caused a severe consequence: war. Because of your clandestine and illegal operation, lieutenant, you have failed your country and your species as a peacekeeping force." Mercuremon accused indiscriminately, "The IDDF has failed at being a mediation force by picking a side. You were bound to fail from the beginning."

Despite the catastrophic news and the anxiety growing in him, Itami remained stoic and cool-headed, a reaction that actually surprised the digimon in front of him. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face for a split second. He has won this round. That was the game they were playing after all, to give the less amount of intel to the adversary while gathering as much as possible on your end. Mercuremon knew that since he was dealing with a human special forces operator but he didn't know to what extent these men were capable of.

"Lieutenant..." He continued, choosing his words carefully to get the human to cooperate with him, "All of this can end if you start cooperating with us. I know you're special forces, there's no hiding it. Just tell us what you were doing on that harbour that night. What objective did your unit had that require you to enter in our territory without legal permission or consultation?" He questioned inquistively, "Were you aware of the risks, dangers and consequences of your actions and those under your command, lieutenant?"

"I could ask you the same question," Itami retorted finally.

"Excuse me?" Mercuremon responded, a bit baffled.

"I presume that we both have the same objective: find the terrorists and stop them. Am I correct?" The human continued with his reasoning, piquing Mercuremon's interest.

"Yes..." He replied slowly, trying to figure out what the human was playing here.

"Then why have your special forces arrived the moment we've captured a high value target and important figure in the terrorist cell? If we truly had the same goals, then you should've noticed the shady activity that has been going on for weeks right under your noses."

Mercuremon remained quiet, clearly confused and unnerved. Even the caretakers regarded the human weirdly. They then glanced at Mercuremon. The humanoid made out of glass turned to the two-way mirror behind him briefly before shifting his gaze back to Itami. Something seemed to bother the digimon, Itami noted mentally. The tables have turned.

Just as he was about to continue, a sharp and deep voice boomed into one of the loudspeakers: _"What is he implying, Mercuremon?"_

"N-nothing, Major. It must be his mind playing tricks or somethi-"

The door to the interrogation room suddenly swung open, revealing an imposing Tactimon. His souless golden eyes glaring at Mercuremon. The glassy digimon seemed to cower in fear as the high-ranking officer stepped forward. He turned to the two caretakers.

"Take him away, I want to be alone with this man." He instructed authoritatively.

"You can't be seriously considering this man's words, Major!" Mercuremon said in bafflement, "He is our _enemy_! We're at war with his kind!" He stated in an accusatory tone.

"I ordered you to leave, Mercuremon!" Tactimon harshly replied.

The Cyberdramon and Pilevolcamon guards hurriedly escorted Mercuremon out of the room and left the Major alone with the prisonner. Tactimon sighed heavily and picked up the folding chair thrown to the ground by the fuming Mercuremon. He set it back in place in and sat down. They both could hear Mercuremon still struggling and arguing with the guards, dragged away with much difficulty.

"I'm sorry," Tactimon said sincerely, "But the intelligence officer's methods are... _controversial_ and outright disgusting but I guess I didn't have much of a choice when he first arrived here with the Emperor's Seal."

"If you're trying to use honeyed words to gather some intel from me, then forget it, Major, you're wasting your time." Itami commented bluntly.

Tactimon chuckled dryly and his posture relaxed, leaning back into his chair and ungracefully rested a foot on the table. "No, I'm not a qualified interrogator, I just hate that mon and his work ethics." He explained truthfully, "I'm here to offer you an apology and a request."

"Which is more intel I presume?" Itami replied sarcastically.

"Well yes, but not what you would expect. Listen, we're both of the same kind here. Soldiers with extreme levels of professionalism and a particular set of skills. We follow orders and get the job done. We get our hands dirty so that the rest of world stays clean. Do you agree with that?" Itami nodded cautiously, "Then you've earned my trust. Let's talk operator to operator. No bullshit. No recordings. How does that sound, lieutenant?"

Itami stared at him with hesitance. His mind was foggy, his body aching with pain and demanding rest. His stomach, of all things, screamed for food and his throat was dry as sandpaper. Despite the physical and mental pain, his will pushed through and stood stalwart. Or that was what he believed. In reality, his will was wavering and beginning to crack. He was now more cautious, paranoid even and more sensible to sounds and lights. Tactimon caught up to that.

"I'll let you think about it. In the mean time, would like something to drink and eat?" Tactimon suggested politely. Itami almost yelled a "yes" but fought back quickly. He simply nodded. The armoured digimon nodded back and walked toward him, "Just give me another second..." He reached through his satchel and produced a key in his hand. He unlocked the metallic cuffs around the man's wrists and let it drop soundly on the cold concrete floor.

"Thanks..." Itami muttered while massaging his wrists.

"You're welcome." Tactimon replied before he silently left the room, locking it behind him.

With the eerie silence settling in, Itami finally had some time to think and breathe. He examined himself, covered in bruises and cuts. His hands shook eratically, his breathing rythm was uneven and a bit painful, probably due to a combination of the harsh beatings, lack of sleep and malnutrition.

He thought back of the operation that fateful night. How it went on, how it had transpired to an ugly mess. Did they walked into a trap? Were they too slow? Too reckless? Something must've happened to trigger the operation to go south rapidly. He thought back to the last hour before his capture. The sounds of gunshots and explosions were still as clear as day in his mind. The smell of gunpowder and blood fresh in his nose. The faces of those who had died... forever haunted him. The men he had lost...

Guilt and stress built up in his stomach and up to his throat. It wasn't guilt however it was – He doubled over and vomited roughly. Bile and water splashed beneath him. He coughed dryly and spat out the last bitter taste of bile in his mouth. His vision was blurred by the hot tears that dampened his eyes. He felt miserable.

He felt like shit.

He thought about the men that got away alive. He wondered what happened to them. He hoped they were fine and he wished that wherever they are right now, they brought hell to the enemy and avenged their fallen brothers.

He prayed that whatever Tactimon planned to do with him, the digimon would grace him with the sweet mercy of Death.

* * *

 _Autumn's Bridge, 0135 hours._

The distant echoes of artillery guns kept the men awake through the eerie night. To their South, fire and black smoke could be seen rising on the horizon, casting a fiery ember against the star-filled night background. Sporatic battles raged on around them as the Marines laid on the ground.

Captain Raymond was on top of the hill, covering behind a tree log with several other Marines, night vision goggles equipped but off and a pair of binoculars in hands. The entire joint-contigency laid and awaited for an enemy advance. Throughout the day, the American and Japanese soldiers fought bravely wave after wave of enemy charges. Countless hostiles were gunned down, the ground soiled with blood and destroyed by the ensuing fires and explosions.

The enemy has been testing them that particular day. Slowly, each wave chip away at their defenses. Each hour, the coalition force would lose their fire support. Air assets were now unavailable, either refueling and in repairs or taken to other battlefields. Their relief force, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Richards, made some progress, thanks in part to the Royal Knights but it wasn't enough to punch through enemy lines. The D-Brigade was now deeply entrenched and stood their ground savagely.

Raymond sensed someone crawling to his right. He turned his head to meet Darrack quietly crawling to his side. The radio transmitter operator handed him the handset.

"The Colonel wants to speak with you, sir." He informed him quietly.

He took the handset and lifted to his ear, "Captain Raymond speaking."

 _"How are you holding up?"_ Richards asked sincerely and lowly.

"Spread thin, tired and low on everything..." Raymond replied, "Are... are you coming to get us tonight?"

There was a long pause before Richards replied solemnly, _"Sorry... we've got some tough resistance. Looks like you have to hold on another day."_ He said regretfully, _"We'll be making a big push tonight. We'll be there soon, I promise."_

"There's no such things as promises in combat, sir." Raymond retorted with a sly grin.

 _"Heh, funny. You're probably the last Marine to believe in that crap."_

"I know... Good luck out there, Will, I'll see on the otherside."

 _"Likewise, Ray. And Semper Fi."_

The line shut off. He gave the handset back and resumed observing the area with his binos. Just then, the binoculars picked up multiple heat signatures, slowly progressing through the hill, about a hundred twenty meters away from the closest squad.

"All Uniforms. Get ready to engage." Raymond issued out the order through the comms, "Be advised: spotted more than a hundred foot mobiles, all hostiles. At a hundred ten meters, due North-West."

Taiki shouldered his rifle and trained his sight on a target. The rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins. His field of view was dipped in a deep hue of green, easily spotting the dozens of hostiles that were about to walk into their ambush. They didn't seem to see clearly in the dark, cautiously walking around like blind children. Like his brothers-in-arms, he waited for the signal.

Seconds that felt like minutes dragged on. Then all of the sudden, a barrage of thunderclaps erupted from the bridge. The ground trembled violently while the enemy force was decimated by a well timed tank salvo. Distracted, the Marines and Army soldiers opened fire in unison, lighting the hill in a bright shower of red and green tracers.

The first row of enemy soldiers dropped dead like flies. Hand grenades eliminated entire fireteams of hostiles. The D-Brigade infantry roared furiously and charged uphill, rushing through the hail of bullets and explosions. As they neared the top of the hill, they met the first line of human soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.

Rika let out an animalistic roar as she plunged the bayonet into a Sealsdramon's chest. Her raw strenght shoved the digimon to the ground, forcing the blade deeper into its flesh. She retracted her rifle before stabbing it a second time through its neck. She deftly dodged a rifle strike from a Commandramon and riposted by striking it across the cheek with the butt of her rifle. She repeatedly slammed the butt against it head until the helmet caved in and smashed its skull.

Ryo covered her rear, smacking and hacking a Weregarurumon with his bloodied entrenching tool. Hamano viciously stabbed at the digimon that pinned him while Nanjo violently bashed a Galgomon at the back of its head with an ammo box, saving Suwabe's life. Private first Classes Ishikawa and Uchida fought side-by-side, stabbing and bludgeoning any hostiles that got too close to them. Private First Class Akesaka defended her post while treating a wounded soldier, pumping out rounds into enemy soldiers with her sidearm.

The humans fought with everything they've got from bayonets and entrenching tools to a rocks and just their bare hands. Savage roars and feral growls emanated from their throats as they struck their enemy down. They fought viciously, violently, fiercily. They weren't humans anymore, they were true monsters. They killed indiscriminately and without any sign of mercy.

The level of brutality and animalistic violence was enough to deter a large number of hostiles out of fear. To the average D-Brigade soldier, it was a living nightmare. They weren't humans to them, they were demons, hellspawns. Any essence of humanity in them was gone, replaced with a blood-fueled, uncontrollable and livid beasts.

That night, rivers of blood soiled the earth and night sky filled with the sounds of monsters, death and destruction. A small display of a hellish nightmare that will forever haunt the enemy.


	13. Under No Flag

Chapter 13:

Under No Flag

"TAKE COVER!"

Captain Yanagida immediately dove to the ground as another rocket whooshed by him. Bright fiery explosions blasted trees and shattered them to pieces, tumbling down while the men beneath them scattered to avoid being crushed alive.

The enemy was getting closer, barely two hundred meters away from the woodland's edge, three hundred meters away from the LZ.

Two hours ago, when Yanagida's forces were about to land, already he could tell that things went horribly wrong the moment he stepped out of the helicopter. As they neared the landing site established by the troops on the ground, rounds and rockets started to fly at them. The attack helicopter squadron returned fire but were soon overwhelmed by enemy fire. One of the Chinooks took a direct hit to the cockpit, explosing into a fiery ball in the air before it fell heavily as a burning metallic carcass.

Once Ironhide 8-4 landed, Yanagida and Lieutenant Kaito's platoon quickly linked up with the rear guard under Lieutenant-Colonel Wargreymon's command, with Chief Warrant Officer II Patterson as second-in-command and leading the 80-man company of US Army soldiers.

Yanagida then led the entire ground force to a nearby forest on top of a mound. Under the cover of the attack helicopters' barrages, the soldiers managed to secure the forest. From there, they've designated and established an LZ for extraction.

Despite the lack of air assets close to the country, Lieutenant-General Yamamoto managed to scavenge six UH-1J and two Puma HC Mk 2 helicopters from a joint British-Japanese medical station, located in a mountainous region about a forty-minute flight outside of the country. Hastily scrambled and with a long flight time, the pilots organized their sorties into three groups. Two groups will consist of three UH-1Js while the third group will consist of the two Pumas. There will a twenty-minute interval between each sorties to get a semi-permanent presence for the troops on the ground as they get extracted.

"Grenade out!" A Japanese trooper yelled, hurling a defensive grenade out.

The explosion blew away a team of hostiles, throwing two digimon in the air. A volley of rifle and machine gun tracer fire rippled through the woodland, taking out more enemy infantry.

"Forward!" A D-Brigade officer bellowed sternly.

On command, a wave of infantry climbed over the shallow river and rushed toward the forest. At the same time, a volley of ranged attacks fired upon the fortified position.

"GET DOWN!"

Large dart-like projectiles plummeted like a rain of javelins. Almost invisible against the night sky, even with the aid of NVGs, humans and digimon alike were being impaled by the darts while bullets, arrows and energy beams suppressed them. The initial volley fire was deadly effective, allowing the infantry to gain more ground at an incredible pace. And they were closing in on them fast.

"I want HEs! Down the mound!" Yanagida ordered loudly.

"Grenadiers! HE at a hundred meters!" Kaito relayed the order firmly, mustering whatever grenadier he had at disposal.

A handful of soldiers responded to the order, fixing the type 06 rifle grenade at the end of their barrel. They chambered in a specialised "bullet trap" and took aim. On Kaito's command, the grenadiers opened fire, a line of rifle grenades flung upward into the air with faint whistles. The HEAT grenades plunged downward and decimated the enemy ground forces in a wave of explosions, fire and sharpnel. The wails and cries of the dying were muffled by the ear-shattering combined explosions. The first volley dealt a deadly blow to the enemy's advance, momentarily halting them in their progress.

Meanwhile, the American soldiers, still fully equipped in CBRN protective gear, covered the Japanese's weakened left flank. Their vehicles, mostly unarmoured trucks and MRAPs, were either destroyed or abandonned since they've made contact with hostile forces. The remaining few were positioned around the LZ, acting as the last line of defense. Though Patterson's men were trained and prepared to fight the enemy, the scale and ferocity of the engagement was over their operational capacity. They weren't properly equipped nor had the sufficient manpower and firepower to fight such hostile force. They were more prepared to fend off a patrol unit or a light skirmish at best.

Unlike their Japanese allies, Patterson's company of 80 men was reduced to a meager 40-man platoon, a mish-mash of crippled squads. Apart from the remote-controlled fifties of the MRAPs, the company's heavy weapons system relied on two M240B machine gun squads and a handful of grenadiers.

The American soldiers were constantly pinned down by superior enemy fire and numbers, racing to reach the forest. The men fought hard and threw everything a them. Rains of high explosive grenade tore through the enemy ranks, medium machine guns and battle rifles barked and roared angrily, the torrent of red tracer rounds slammed and ate away their numbers. For the D-Brigades, it was a slow and bloody crawl to the top of the small hill.

Despite the heavy casualties inflicted by the smaller American force, the D-Brigade soldiers were able to rapidly close in the gap thanks to the suppression fire of their cavalry. Soon, they were at grenade-throwing distance from each other.

"Don't let them get any closer!" Patterson hollered in a throaty voice, "Frag 'em to shreds!"

The first American line began to throw hand grenades down the slope. They were so close to the enemy that they could even hear them talking. They were also close enough that some soldiers began to switch to their shotguns, barraging any nearby hostiles with 12 gauge shotgun shells.

Patterson downed two hostiles with short accurate bursts of fire before he had to reload. Seeing the enemy approaching fast, he picked up his frag grenade, pulled the pin and lobbed it over his head. The ground rocked and sharpnel whizzed by him. He switched to his pistol and pumped five rounds into another enemy infantryman. The machine gun squads on their flanks focused fire at the center of the enemy formation where they assembled in a tight cluster. The concentrated machine gun fire swept across the ranks, mists and geysers of blood exploded and bursted into the air, soiling into the earth.

The Americans pinned them down and brought down a mighty hammer of overwhelming volume of fire, but the lines were quickly overrun. The D-Brigade infantry have managed to closed in to the edge of the mound and began to surround it. A sizeable cavalry emerged almost out of nowhere and maneuvered around the infantry line to strike at the flanks and possibly the rear to eventually encircle the coalition contigent with a swift and deadly blow.

Morale plummeted and ammunation was running low. The rest of Yanagida's company were about an hour and a half of a drive away, slowed down by being constantly harrassed by enemy air assets and cavalry squadrons. The line finally faltered, forcing the humans to fall back while Wargreymon's soldiers covered their retreat.

"Fall back to the MRAPs! Fall back!" Patterson ordered loudly.

The men started to withdraw, carrying the wounded with them while a few handful covered their retreat. The enemy charged forward and into the woodland where they meet their foes in close-quarters combat. They exchanged fire and grenade throws. Melee duels clashed along the defensive line but were swiftly ended by Wargreymon's soldiers, intervening to shield their human allies.

His M17 pistol barked as rounds flew at its targets, neutralising a couple of hostiles. Patterson made his way behind a tree, one of the machine gun teams were lagging behind due to concentrated enemy fire. He and two other soldiers tried to relieve some of the pressure off them, focusing their effort on the wave of hostiles.

In response, enemy grenades started to rain on their heads. One landed right by his left foot. He quickly grabbed and threw it back at the enemy. The grenade exploded in mid-air, just above a fireteam of hostiles, peppering them with their own sharpnels. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough to throw the other ones. Two grenades blew to his side, dismembering one of his men and throwing another in a plume of dirt and blood.

A second rain of grenades landed on their heads. A grenade landed behind two combat medics about to drag a wounded away. Patterson acted with his instincts and immediately dashed toward them. He pushed one of the medics to the ground before he dropped flatly on top of the grenade. He closed his eyes and braced for a gruesome death.

The hand grenade exploded violently, Patterson's body shot up a couple of feet into the air, guts spilling out of the abdomen as the blown up corpse landed hardly on the ground. The medics, horrified by the lost of their CO, recovered from the shock and picked up their pace as they dragged their patient toward the MRAPs.

Wargreymon's soldiers clashed with the enemy in a brutal melee brawl. They crashed into their lines, crushing the weathered and exhausted D-Brigade soldiers, only fueled up by fanatical determination and steely cold desire to kill everything in their paths.

Though outnumbered, Wargreymon's platoon was far being outmatched. The dragon warrior had under his command some of Sword Zone's highly skilled and experienced veterans, whom had already fought with and against the D-Brigade in past campaigns. Highly resistant to attacks and armed with the best weapons the Zone's finest blacksmiths had to offer. Always at the front and in the thick of battle, these veterans were renowned to hold against tides of armies while outnumbered.

And they held their line firmly, planting a solid foot and held the hostiles at bay. Being so close to their enemy, it forced the D-Brigade infantry to clash with Wargreymon's soldiers in melee while exposing their cavalry to human heavy machine gun fire, now cut off of their infantry support.

The terrifying cacophony of the M2HB machine guns roared throughout the forest, ripping the enemy cavalry wave. Nested deep in the forest and in a favorable firing position, the D-Brigade light cavalry had to push through the heavily forested mound, only to be mowed down by hails of bullets. Taking heavy losses, confused and walking into a death trap in the dark, the cavalry digimon pulled back, leaving the battered infantry behind.

The chaotic orchestra of explosions and discordant loud barks of firearms were soon drowned out by a flurry of rocket wails and helicopter blades slicing through the air. The rocket barrage pounded the fleeing infantry, accompanied by a brutally successful strafing run of autocannon rounds.

The men cheered out of exhaustion and relief as two attack helicopter squadrons swooped into the battlefield and laid waste to the enemy force. Three UH-1J transport helicopters raced to the LZ, picking the wounded and survivors one at a time.

"Captain!" Yanagida turned to his left as a grimey and tired Kaito emerged into his hazy green field-of-view.

"How are you holding up, lieutenant?" He asked concernly.

"Fine, sir..." Kaito replied hurriedly, "What are your orders, sir?" He asked, almost impatiently.

"We hold our ground here until the helicopters arrive." Yanagida answered bluntly. "In the meantime, we can dig in and regroup our supplies and men."

"We are not going to chase after them?" Kaito asked.

Yanagida removed his NVGs off his eyes and stared at the young officer. Upon closer look, the man didn't look nervous or tired; no he was fully awake and filled with energy. From a simple look in his eyes was enough for him to tell that the lieutenant wanted more action and was impatient for glory. Typical of young officers whom experienced their first combat deployment right after their graduation from the National Defense Academy.

"We're currently outnumbered, ill-equipped and low on supplies to take on a entire enemy unit. We barely hold ourselves against two infantry companies and a cavalry platoon." Yanagida reminded the officer in a cold voice, "We may have won this fight but a counter-offensive is out of the question and a suicide. We are dealing with digimons here, not Islamic jihadists or Somali pirates. Moreover, we're also talking about a professional and veteran army. Do you now see why we must stay put?"

Kaito relunctantly nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Good. We dig in and fortify our position for the rest of the night. And keep the men alert, we may never know when they'll strike back." Yanagida instructed.

It wasn't lost to him that the situation has gotten worst. Even if they do manage to evacuate everyone out of the battlefield, the speed, efficient and ferocity of the enemy force concerned Yanagida. Were their forces really outmatched? Can they evacuate the refugees in time? The combined IDDF air forces were contesting for air superiority; while they had speed and firepower, they were simply no match for airborne digimon, naturally agile, nimble, whose strenght relied on diversity of aerial digimon and prone to close in at odd angles. Casualty rate among fighter pilots rose drastically, the highest of the 21st century.

"Captain Yanagida," A deep but calm voice called him. He looked right and stood at attention to Wargreymon.

"Colonel." He saluted sharply.

"At ease, captain... I wanted to thank you and your men for coming to our aid, we wouldn't have lasted this long without your help." Wargreymon stated gratefully.

Yanagida looked down, feeling sheepish in front of the imposing digimon. He rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. "To be completely honest, sir, we weren't aware of a rear guard force," He admitted guiltily, "Our initial mission was to escort the refugees to an extraction point. We were only informed at the last minute by the ambassa-"

"How is she?" Wargreymon asked hastilly, interrupting him by surprise.

"She's... she's doing fine, sir. She's really worried about you."

"Thank the Divines..." Wargreymon breathed out a sigh of relief, "I assume she would be, but the Americans needed all the help they can get."

"Understandable, colonel. They wouldn't be standing here without your help," Yanagida glanced at the helicopters, almost complete with boarding up the last Americans, "But I suggest that you catch on one of those rides, sir. Your wife has been explicit with getting you back alive." He informed with a small side grin.

"Are you sure, captain?" He asked concernly, "I can still fight and hop on the next ride."

"True but there might not be another chance to see your wife." There was a pause between them. Wargreymon wanted to leave and reunite with his beloved Angewomon but he couldn't bear to leave soldiers behind, especially humans. Doing so will make him feel like a coward.

"We'll handle it from here, sir." Yanagida said with a confident nod.

Hesitantly, Wargreymon bid the man farewell and joined the rest of his forces. The three transport helicopters lifted off the ground and flew back in the opposite direction, returning to base.

Moments later, the platoon, what was left of it anyways, got to work by digging up foxholes and setting sandbags and machine gun positions. Yanagida wanted to make all the necessary preparations for a bigger fight. If the helicopter fail to arrive in time, then they would make their last stand at the LZ until support would come.

* * *

 _Local town twenty-five clicks away from the Jade Kingdom-Metal Empire border._

The night was peacefully quiet in this part of the world. A full moon shone brightly down on the silent streets of the small settlement. The town was cozily far away from the ongoing war that raged at the other side of the vast empire. Off in the distance, looming over the horizon were the snow-capped mountain range of _Seolsan_ , providing a natural frontier between the Metal Empire and the Jade Kingdom.

The villagers of the agricultural town were in a deep slumber after celebrating a local event held that day. Large feasts were held, music was played, songs echoed in the streets, dances were organized and more importantly, beer and ale flooded the town. Indeed, the townspeople held their version of Oktoberfest where alcohol was a lot cheaper for the event.

Naturally, only a few drunkards wandered the lonely streets along with the groups of lamplighters, town hall employees tasked with lighting the oil lamp posts that scattered all over town, but as well act as the first responders in case of fires, medical emergencies or to alert the authorities of petty crimes and bar brawls.

Unbeknownst to them however, a large force of soldiers weaved through the dark alleyways and rooftops, remaining hidden while moving fast. These stealth soldiers were congregating toward one location, a local inn.

Sniper teams were set up on rooftops around the inn while the soldiers on the ground slowly and cautiously approached the tavern from the sides and rears, completely surrounding it and securing all possible exits. The inn keeper nor their clients knew about their arrival, not even the authorities or the mayor. The few unlucky lamplighters who crossed paths with these elite special forces were swiftly knocked out and ungracefully left behind a dumpster in an alleyway.

Two 10-digimon assault squads closed in toward the front entrance door from the sides. Armed with suppressed weapons and ballistic shields, the operators mounted the five-step staircase to the door. A breacher toyed with the door's lock before unlocking it and opening the door silently.

Equipped with the latest night vision goggles of the Metal Empire military, the digimon rushed in and spread out into smaller fireteams, combing the ground floor. In another building across the street, the operators' commander observed them while listening intently the radio transmissions and reports of the assault and sniper teams.

After clearing the ground floor, the assault squads carefully made their way up the first floor. Faint snoring from the sleepy room occupants filled the dark hallway. The wooden floorboards creaked under their heavy armoured boots. They picked up the pace and started to clear each room. Each fireteam would stack up by a guest room and used a snake camera to peek under the door.

About five minutes later, they were done clearing the first floor with no results. They proceeded to move up to the second floor. As they climbed the staircase, the leading digimon stepped on a tripwire on the way up. Suddenly two tin cans, tied to a rope, swung by their face and clattered against each other loudly.

The squads halted in their tracks, as still as statues, looked at one another before they deciced to continue with the raid, quickening their pace. Reaching the second floor, they spread out and began to clear the rooms. A fireteam checked the room closest to the staircase on their left. They spotted three silhouettes: two were sleeping on their beds while the third sat by the window, either staring at the moon or napping as well. They couldn't get more details but the silhouettes had human-like figures and statures.

This was it. The chase was finally over.

The fireteams stacked up, the breacher brought out their breaching ram. They forcefully slammed the steel ram against the door knob, smashing throung the wood and breaking it apart. The pointmon, wielding the shield, violently kicked it open, the slab of wood fell in a loud heap. The operators charged and flick their weapons' flashlights on, intent on blinding their suspects.

"Hands above the head!"

"Get on the ground!"

They angrily shouted orders after orders at the unwilling suspects. But they were shocked to find stuffed pillow cases and blankets instead of humans. Fooled by the crafty decoys and warily looked around for any tripwires and traps

They collectively heard the shouts of another fireteam at the opposite end of the hallway, followed by a terrified and alarmed scream.

"GRENA-"

The whole building shook violently, broken glass coughed outward, the wooden and stone foundations moaned and whined by the sudden blast of a grenade. Black smoke puffed out of the opened door as the other operators stared at it in shock.

Doors were opened all around them as the fatigued guests were suddenly awakened by the loud noises. The guests on the second floor were met with the strange sight of heavily armed soldiers in their hallway. They froze, bewildered and surprised. The operators in the hallway reacted quickly, they forcefully ordered the civilians to get on the ground and to put their hands behind their heads before they proceeded to bind them.

While chaos ensued on the upper levels, Marcus, Mizuhara, Park and Lucemon were quietly making their escape through the inn's stable. The commotion was enough to gather everyone's attention and to divert the commander's and snipers' focus away from the humans and their prisonner.

The small group ventured deeper in the town, remaining hidden and only moving along the shadows and through dark alleys. By the time they've reached the stone fence that was erected around the town, the D-Brigade operators began their mad search for their suspects in the close vicinities, but it was already too late. Their suspects were now in the countryside and heading straight for _Seolsan_ on foot. It will be a long and perilous trek but with the cover of the night and their successful distraction, they have gained a considerable distance between them and their pursuers.

One of the human operators, Marcus, looked around and stared at the town in the distance, raising a middle finger toward it before rejoining his group.

* * *

 _Jupiner Pine, Sword Zone, 0325 hours, October 3rd 2022._

Far away from the frontline of the conflict, the residents of Juniper Pine weren't too preoccupied with the war. Since the war started, they lived a relative peace, knowing that their government and military would protect them and fend off the invading D-Brigade forces. However, two days ago, they received the news of the nuclear attack in the capital, as well as the evacuation order from one of Angewomon's messengers. In a day, the small village was almost empty, only a few handful were still preparing to evacuate or were too stubborn to leave their peaceful settlement.

One of the residents, the owner of the lumber mill, has gotten an unfortunate visit late that night.

The loghouse's fireplace was lit, the curtains covering the windows, casting faint shadows walking across the house. Muffled groans and feet shuffling, as well as furniture moving and crashing and thrashing could be heard.

A loud crack echoed in the living room as the dining table broke in half under his weight. Gazimon, covered in bruises and blood, whined in pain as he struggled to get back on his feet.

"Y'know, Gazimon," The masked human began in a nonchalant tone, "It would be easy for you and me if you just tell us where your leader is hiding."

"I told you! I- I don't know..." Gazimon coughed violently, spitting out blood out of his mouth and nose.

One of the masked men stomped on him, forcing his body down on the floor. Gazimon gritted his teeth angrily, trying to claw his way out of the human's weight. His interrogator and probably the leader of the group, casually made his way to him and bent down.

"Don't lie to us. We know you have ties with the insurgents. You're a scout, don't try to bullshit your way out of this. You only have yourself to blame here. Cooperate with us and all of this would end quickly." He proposed.

"Screw. You." Gazimon hissed venomously.

Agent "Warden" McKinley sighed and shook his head in disappoinment, "Alright, you left me with no choice." He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Almost on cue, more masked men showed up in the living room, bringing up drawers filled with Gazimon's personal belongings and finances. They set the drawers down by the fireplace. McKinley then moved to the fireplace and looked at the assortment of trinkets. He picked a framed family photo, examining the picture.

"We know for a fact that you've been working with the insurgents for a few weeks as their informant. You wanted revenge from the Metal Empire... because of this." He said while waving the picture in the air.

"what... what are you d-doing...?" Gazimon asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your family. They didn't deserved what the Imps did to them and to your home village." McKinley stated, hovering the picture toward the fireplace. Swiftly, he smashed the frame and glass to pieces against the wall, taking out the picture itself.

"N-no... please don't do it!" Gazimon pleaded pathetically, hot tears running down his bruised cheeks.

"Though I heard you still had a surviving little brother..." There was a long pause in McKinley's words.

He could feel the warmth provided by the fireplace, desperately rising and licking at the picture, almost as if it was hungry for it. With a flick of his fingers, he dropped the picture into the fire's maw. Gazimon watched in horror as the last remaining image of his deceased family was being consumed in the flames, crackling and withering before crumbling to pieces. The mammal digimon winced and whined, thrashing around before he received a violent kick to the face.

"Tell me, how's he been doing eversince..." McKinley continued,"Where is he?"

"Go to hell!" Gazimon shouted furiously.

"Ah yes, now I remember! He's in a concentration camp in the Metal Empire because of his "unique" affliction. Am I right?" Gazimon looked away, "Tell me, who sold him out? Who betrayed you and your brother for a handsome amount of cash?"

"What do you want?!" Gazimon asked in a cracked and pained voice. McKinley grinned in response. He walked to a rucksack on the sofa and pulled out a hardened laptop. He turned it on and placed it in front of the digimon, the monitor facing him.

"You see this?" He pointed at the monitor, "That's a live feed from an attack drone. And that? That's the concentration camp that your brother's currently serving in." He explained coldly. "For your cooperation, we can rescue him, you have my word but," He paused for a second, "If you give us the wrong intel or refuse to help us, we can also end his misery right here and there, thanks to a five hundred pound J-DAM bomb, enough to level the entire camp to the ground. That, you also have my word."

"You're bluffing! You're humans, you have rules! You can't kill civilians!" Gazimon shot back angrily, anxiously hoping he would keep his brother away from this.

"True, but you see, we on the other hand have some leeway to get the job done. Not all humans are bound by those accomplihs our missions by whatever means necessary." The pinned digimon glared at him in defiance, not believing his words. "I guess we should show you a demo." He turned to one of his men by the fireplace, "Burn his life's savings."

With that simple order, the men picked up the drawers, filled with dozens of digimon paper money, and dumped them in the fire. The flames grew immediately, engulfing Gazimon's savings in seconds. He stared at the devastation for long seconds and stared back at the human in disbelief.

"Now usually, when we do these kinds of interactions with pirates and terrorists in our world, we actually bomb the shit out of their family relatives. But since you only have your brother to keep you alive, I'm willing to let you decide his fate." He brought out his radio set, "With a simple command, I can either destroy him or free him, but that is up to you Gazimon."

The digimon refused to believe him. They couldn't do that, humans fundamentally couldn't mindlessly kill people, even civilians. Or so he thought, he didn't have much knowledge of them either. He only knew them through the news and stories that were told by witnesses and veterans. Often, they were tales of soldiers daring to sacrifice themselves for another, to go above and beyond the call of duty while surpassing dauntless oppositions. Those were the humans that many described. Yet, at the back of his mind, he could feel ill-intentions from this man. He didn't have the same aura as the others around him. There was some form of cold and malicious aura about this particular human.

"We don't have all night, Gazimon. You either tell us or we will kill your brother and burn this town with your grave." McKinley warned him bluntly and coldly.

"Nohemon!" Gazimon answered desperately, "Nohemon's behind this! H-he contracted me!"

"Where is he?"

"At the lumber camp in the Amber Forest, North West of here, you can't miss it!" He replied hastilly. "The terrorists use that camp as an escape route. They've dug tunnels to hide and relocate to other camps!"

There was a long silent pause that hung in the air, only the soft cracks of the fire resonated in the loghouse. McKinley then hummed and nodded at the masked soldiers around him. As if commanded by telepathy, they immediately obeyed the silent order. Simultaneously, they started to empty the drawers into the fireplace, letting the flames to burn everything. They rummaged and picked every piece of paper that had writings on it and shoved them in a plastic bag. Meanwhile, two soldiers picked Gazimon up and brought him to a chair, before binding his hands and legs onto the chair and started to drag him toward his bedroom.

"w-w-w-what's going? What's happening?! Where are you taking me?!" The bound digimon struggled fruitlessly, panicking and breathing rapidly.

McKinley simply followed him to the bedroom at a casual pace, smirking victoriously. "We're about to leave you alone for about a week. In the meantime, why don't you just relax until we get back, hm?" He stated nonchalantly, not a all reassuring the furry digimon.

"I- but what about my brother?!"

"Don't worry about him. We will mount a rescue mission soon. You have my word." The masked human replied cooly, "But for now, you will stay put. Oh and you better have told us the truth, or else we will do the opposite. Is that clear?"

"w-w-hat?"

"Alright then, see you in a week, champ!"

Once they put out the fire, they were once again engulfed in darkness. As swift and as silent as shadows, the six-man team of SAD operatives exfiltrated the village and linked up with another unit nearby.

Soon, it was time to pay a visit to this Nohemon.

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, 0527 hours, October 3rd 2022._

Duftmon observed the D-Brigade forces, camping about six-hundred meters away from the devastated base. With the previous chemical attack and night time air raids, the camp was reduced to rubbles and ash.

The camp's defenses were obliterated, its anti-air guns and artillery batteries silenced, the airfield left empty. Still standing was only a small pocket of survivors, a skeleton crew, more accurately, of a few hundreds, not much larger than a battalion's worth of manpower. Supplies were on the brink of complete exhaustion. They were cut off from their allies and reinforcements. Any nearby units that tried to link up have either surrendered or wiped out. The last news he has gotten came from Grani himself wasn't a good: Dukemon and Slayerdramon's forces were captured, the two main leaders taken prisonners as bargaining chips.

Rapid shufflings of feet hitting the floorboards caught his attention. He dropped the pair of binoculars and turned around expectantly at two human soldiers, their gas masks still on. They sharply saluted him and awaited his orders. Duftmon pointed at an army green metallic crate near them.

"Signal flare rods. Those things last longer and can be fired at a longer distance than your ordinary flare guns," As he explained, the men shortly opened the crate each carried two long tubes. They inspected the flare rods, making sure they would function properly without too much damage. "Get to the air control tower and fire them East from us. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" They replied in unison.

"Good luck," He was then interrupted by distant detonations. They all looked out the HQ's shattered windows to see white pencil lines tracing arching trails over the horizon, "Looks like the battle's about to start, double time, men." He instructed coldly, drawing out his rapier.

The defenders sprung to action, rejoining the sandbags and firing positions to take on the attackers once more. Dorbickmon was among them, guiding and mustering his troops, keeping their reactivity and morale high.

"Incoming smoke rounds!" He bellowed gruffly, "They're covering their progress. Get ready for battle, troopers!"

Colonel Dorbickmon whipped out his longsword, the _Tyrant Collbrande_ , and closed his striking golden eyes and slowing breathed down. He struck the blade through the ground and focused on gathering the dragon veins' energy laying beneath the surface. His digicore glowed while drumming in his ears as raw draconic energy surged through him and his sword. The _Tyrant Collbrande_ suddenly sparked and combusted to a burning blaze. The magenta flames warped around the blade and up the hilt. Fumes left Dorbickmon's muzzle as he retracted the sword off the ground, having gathering enough dragon energy from the digital earth.

"This is it, soldiers! This is where we make our stand! This is where _they_ die! Fight for the fatherland! Or die standing!" Dorbickmon shouted with a fiery determination, rousing his troops' morale and will to fight.

"Hu-zzah! Hu-zzah! Hu-zzah!" They cried in unison while slamming their weapons on the ground. The defiant battlecry echoed loudly in the battlefield.

He turned toward a human officer, "On my signal, you make it rain, lieutenant." He instructed.

"Copy that, sir."

Corporal Emil Rhodes and Private First Class Samuel Oher ran across the airstrip, the toxic chemicals still lingering in the air like a thick morning fog. Numerous bodies of their fallen brothers littered the long concrete strip of road. The chemical barrage was a success, nearly wiping out the entire camp's defenses. Reaching the air control tower, they busted the door open and climbed up the spiral staircase.

Echoes of small arms fire and mortars forced them to pick up their pace, jumping over a few corpses along the way. Arriving at the top, they broke down some windows and prepped up the signal flare rods. They unscrewed the butt end of the rods, giving them access to a simple string. They propped the rods on the shattered window frames and pointed them upwards. With a single sharp pull from the string, a thick, green smoke trail bursted out of the rod. The plume shot upward to the air before exploding brightly into the cloudless sky. More flares bursted to the sky as the battle intensified.

However, there were no responses. They both watched over the horizon desperately, the black single element eye lens from their M50 JSG Protective Masks masked their anxiety and fear. Then all of the sudden, a series of green trails of smoke rose behind the horizon, bursting in the air as well.

The cavalry has arrived.

* * *

 _Autumn's Bridge._

The thunderous roars of the Abrams tanks sent a shiver down his spine. For a second time, the armoured company was about to make another push, allowing the Japanese forces to breathe with one flank clear of hostiles.

"Somebody bring up the SMAWs!" Raymond shouted after spotting a large force of enemy cavalry and infantry. Three Marines showed up with their rocket launchers shouldered, "Priority targets on the cavalry, clear the road for our tanks!"

"Backblast!" One of them yelled.

"Clear!" The captain replied loudly.

Dust and dirt violently kicked up as the rockets bursted out fo the launchers and zoomed toward the road. The rockets hit their marks with devastating effects, wiping out a slew of foot soldiers and armoured cavalry soldiers. In response, a hail of bullets and energy beams flew at them. The Marines quickly dove to the ground and crawled to the nearest cover.

Raymond picked out a M18 smoke grenade, pulled the pin out and hastilly hurled it over the small tree stump of his cover. Masking their retreat he urged the three others to move up and relocate. His headset buzzed eratically with various inaudible radio chatter, his heartbeat drummed loudly into his ears, his breathing ragged and uneven. He swore that his equipment got heavier by the second. But despite the pain and faitgue, he gritted his teeth and pushed himself over the physical and mental obstacles. He had a battle to win and men to bring home alive, if possible.

He jumped in a foxhole, crouching beside a shaky Marine, fumbling with the magazine and his rifle. He temporarily ignored him, his left hand cupping his headset to get a clearer audio. At first, he could only hear incomprehensible chatter and a static white noises. Then came one clear and firm voice.

 _"*static*-pha Lima, this is Romeo-Kilo Alpha, friendlies inbound fast to your six."_

Eyes perked up at the sky, he spotted Alphamon and Examon leading their task force, swooping over his men and unleashing a deadly barrage of ranged attacks at the D-Brigade forces.

A round of cheers erupted along the line. The humans, ecstatic to finally have their relief force, fought with renewed vigour and determination, their morale boosted by the sight of the Order soldiers. From land, the joint Marine-Army force rolled through the enemy line, breaching their blockade and re-linking up with the stranded unit.

Raymond released a deep sigh of relief, his head rested back against the mud and he momentarily closed his eyes. The nightmare was over, for now.

By noon, the D-Brigade forces has been successfully pushed back to the Metal Empire's border, the counter-offensive has proven to be a major and strategic victory for the coalition, but it came at a heavy cost. And despite the powerful blow they did to the invasion force, their original objectives have not been met on time. Most of the defense forces were either destroyed or captured, camp Tolkien on the verge of capture and cut off, they were back on square one.

While his men combed and secured the area, Raymond, along with other officers, was having a debriefing of the situation with Alphamon and lieutenant-colonel Richards. They were debating their next course of action: either regroup and relink with camp Tolkien, which meant fighting their way through entrenched enemy positions, or (and to Richards's surprise) push through the M.E border.

"With all due respect, sir," Examon began carefully, "We're in no position to start an invasion of our own, even less when we consider the fact that we just drive off an entire division."

"That's exactly the purpose. The enemy in this sector is in total retreat, giving us a perfect opportunity and momentum to push back the entire invasion force." Alphamon reasoned firmly.

"And how the fuck do we accomplish that?" A battered and grime covered Richards asked informally.

"If we continue with our counter-offensive, we will force Raijinmon to fall back before the rest of the D-Brigade pour through Sword Zone. They have Tolkien surrounded, but they're also spread thin now that we have cut off their main supply line." The black paladin explained.

Richards regarded the Royal Knight with disdain. He dropped his gaze and turned to all the officers present. "How are you all doing? Supply wise." He demanded coldly.

The officers looked at each other, wanting to sum up their situation as short as possible. "Black on everything." Captain Hayes replied grimly.

"See? We're knee deep in shit right now and you want us to push forward in a suicide mission?!" Richards snapped angrily at Alphamon, "We move forward, we're dead. We stay here, we're dead. We fall back, we're dead. We're cut off from all air assets and artillery support. Our vehicles don't have the sufficient capacity to carry our boys, the wounded and the dead back to friendly lines. Face it, Alphamon, the situation's fubar!"

Alphamon was about to protest, only to be stopped by a firm hold from Examon. The tall armoured dragon gazed at him and shook his head, "Our best option is either holding our position or retreat. We can't do more than that, Alphamon." He said solemnly, surprised to see the highly praised Royal Knight to be so bold yet reckless and aggressive.

The Aloof Hermit considered his comrade's words, visibly frustrated with their current predicament. All those lives lost for no reason, he needed a justification for these deaths. He had lost so many in the span of a week that he couldn't even grasped the fact that the war spiraled out of control. He didn't want to admit defeat for a second time. His Order has failed to protect the DigiWorld from the rise of the Imperium and he has failed once again to prevent another bloody conflict.

Despite his stuborn disagreement, he knew that the humans won't back down as well; they've dug their heels solidly into the ground and planned to remain like that. Eventually, and relunctantly, they were right. He saw the situation in their perspective and understood the major obstacles and problems they were facing. The humans didn't have an unlimited supply of ammunations, and even less of manpower.

"Fine..." He finally said, "Just... how long can your men hold this bridge?" He asked the colonel.

"Uh... about a day or two tops. Why?"

He pondered for a moment, forming up another plan to turn the tide for good. "I'm going to ask you a favor. Hold this position for as long as you can. I will take my forces back to Tolkien and clear out a path between our forces. This should allow your men to fall back safely to the camp and get the supplies you need and the numbers they need."

"That... doesn't sound too insane. I guess we can do that." Richards agreed, "We have Raijinmon's attention, that's for sure."

"Exactly. With his attention diverted elsewhere, he will have no choice to spread out his forces further more, making their left flank weak to counter-attacks."

"Alright, we'll go by that plan. We will hold this position, but you need to move fast if this should work."

"Will do." Alphamon nodded, "Examon, gather our troops, we move out in twenty minutes."

"Roger that." Examon replied, the _Caledfwlch_ wings spreading out.

* * *

 _Green Hill, Southern Region, 0725 hours, October 3rd 2022._

It rained heavily this morning on the peaceful town of Green Hill. The sun has risen over the horizon but the thick, dark gray clouds blocked the inhabitants of their usual warm sunlight. Yet despite the heavy rain and strong cool winds, the townspeople continued with their daily activities, flooding the streets and create long, frustrating traffic jams along the way.

With such an unprecedented torrent at this time of the day, several roads and highways were blocked by either slow moving traffic or accidents. It was especially hard for the Green Hill Police Department and IDDF Military Police to patrol around.

Among the sea of digimon that flooded the outdoor marketplace, was Leomon, a local of Little Dawn village. Sat on top of brawn lion's head was his little brother Elecmon, protected from the elements in a bright yellow raincoat. Leomon still held up the red and blue umbrella over them, shielding themselves and the grocery baskets from the rain.

"Man...when does it stop?" Elecmon moaned, his expression sour and annoyed.

"Don't know, little brother, but I hope it ends soon..." Leomon replied reassuringly. He gazed up at the dark grey clouds, his face furrowed into a frown, "At this rate, we might get a flood..." He quietly said to himself, not wanting to worry his younger brother.

"Hey, Leomon. Do you think mom is going to bake an apple pie for us?"

The brawn, bipedal lion smiled warmly and looked up at Elecmon, "Sure hope so-"

He was suddenly interrupted when the earth trembled violently for a second, followed by an ear-shattering explosion. Surprised, he fell on the ground, not knowing what was going on. High pitched ringing filled his ears, his vision blurry and his body shook like a leaf. Despite the lost of hearing, he could still make out muffled screaming while digimon around him started to run away in panic.

A smaller, squeaky voice called his name, the tone filled with horror and desperation.

"LEOMON! LEOMON!"

He immediately recognized the small blurry silhouette as his brother. His natural, protective instincts kicked in. As he slowly recovers from the disorientation, he picked up Elecmon and followed the crowd out of the marketplace.

Everything was chaotic. Multiple explosions could be heard and felt all over the town. Black smoke rose from the horizon, erratic fires spread out and chewed through buildings and streets, clouds of data floated among the ashes and smoke screens, rivers of blood flooded the streets.

Various sirens from the Green Hill Emergency Response Units echoed loudly across town. Leomon's grip around Elecmon tightened, shielding his brother's ears and eyes from the horrors he just witnessed. Elecmon trembled uncontrollably in his hold, sobbing and breathing unevenly.

"Are you hurt, Elecmon? Are you alright?!" He asked frantically while trying to find a safe place in this chaos.

Over the sea of digimon, he spotted the Green Hill Police Department and sprinted towards it, forcing his way through the crowd.

"Out of my way! Move out! Move out!" He shouted like a maniac, his brother's safety was his top priority, and absolutely nothing will stop him in his mission.

Shoving a digimon away, he made a mad dash to the police department and stormed through the glass doors. Immediately after entering the building, he stopped dead in his tracks as a dozen of digimon police officers and human soldiers brandished their weapons at him by reflex.

"Fucking halt!"

"Hands behind your head!"

They angrily shouted commands at him, but his frightening mind simply couldn't comprehend a single word they said.

"I-I-I-I-I-" He stuttered sporatically, the colours on his face washed away as the situation started to dawn on him.

"Get on the ground! Get on the ground!"

"Get on the fucking ground! NOW!"

Dumbly he followed their instructions, getting on his knees but still holding protectively his brother.

"p-p-p-lease don't shoot!" He pleaded hopelessly, finally summoning the courage to speak up before things got out of hands fast.

"God damn it! Stand down!" A human soldier bellowed strictly, "Stand down for Christ's sake! Stand down!" He approached the lion digimon and knelt down, "Are you alright, son? Are you hurt?"

"I-I- no, I'm fine... I think..." Leomon replied, still shaken to the core.

"Get these two to the infirmary for a check-up." He ordered two other soldiers. He stood back up, his face contorted to a deep scowl, "Get back to work! We have wounded civilians out there and I want boots out there now!"

"You heard the boss! Move out!" Another human shouted sternly.

"Let's go! Go! Go!"

Humans and digimon alike rushed out of the building and spread out through the streets, each unit going to their designated objectives or helping out the civilians in any way possible.

At camp Dawnstar, the whole base was on high alert. Medical helicopters flew off the tarmac, soldiers ran to their vehicles, convoys of APCs and trucks rush out of the main gates and to the town.

Driving the lead vehicle was Private First Class Joshua Pines. Following the lead JLTV were other APCs and trucks. The radio post inside the tactical vehicle was buzzing with various transmission calls. Apart from the muffled screaming and shouting outside the armoured vehicle, the town was eerily calm. Without the dead bodies scattered on the road, it was hard to believe for the men that there was a terrorist attack, with already hundreds deaths.

"Once you reach the crossroads, you take the left." Instructed his squad leader, Sergeant Anthony Cortez.

"Roger," Pines replied with a nod, eyes focused on the road.

Just as he steered to the left, the ground shook violently for a solid second. A shockwave of dust and ash washed over the convoy followed by an ear-shattering explosion. He grounded the vehicle to an abrupt and screeching halt.

"Second detonation!"

"Second detonation!"

"Overlord, this is Viking 1-1. Confirmed second detonation. Over."

 _"Viking 1-1, copy that. Be advised: we have just received report of hostile presences. I repeat: hostiles are in the AO. Advance with caution and be aware of your twenty. Over."_

"Overlord, Viking 1-1. Copy that. We're Oscar-Mike to rendez-vous point. ETA: six mikes. Out."

Coming into a small commercial district, the convoy slowed down. The remote controlled turrets, armed with either M240 or Browning M2HB machine guns, scouted out their perimeter, the cannons pointing in every direction. Suddenly, all hell came loose.

Range attacks and rocket fire struck the vehicles. The turret gun operators riposted, showering the buildings around them with hot lead. One of the transport trucks was struck, it sky-rocketed to the air in a blaze of fire, landing violently on the road as hunk of melted metal.

The second lead vehicle took a direct hit on its right side, a fist-sized hole punched cleanly through the armour and the unlucky soldier that sat there. The rear JLTV was destroyed, blocking the convoy's back exit and trapping the US soldiers in the district. More hostiles showed up, assaulting the soldiers with energy projectiles and ranged attacks.

"We gotta push forward!" Cortez yelled angrily, "Keep driving! Ram through 'em if you have to! Just keep moving, son!" He ordered sternly.

"Yes, sergeant!" Pines replied hastilly, his right foot slamming the accelerator.

The tires whined and screeched against the asphalt before dragging the vehicle forward. He swiftly spun the steering wheel to the side, making a hard right and charging through a smaller street. As they reach a roundabout, a sudden force crashed into them to their right, tossing the vehicle in the air and off the road.

Time actually seemed to slow down for Pines. He saw the world turning upside down for him. His ears rung painfully while his vision started to blackout. His heart drummed rapidly, he held his breath in as he closed his eyes and braced for impact. With a terrifying crash, the JLTV continued to tumble and roll across the road before smashing into a storefront.

Moments later, Pines woke up with a startle, quickly regaining his consciousness. He winced when a terrible headache brought down on him like a warhammer. He massaged his forehead, relieving some of the pain while looking around the APC. It was laying on its left side. His squad leader wasn't moving. Blood spilled out of his ears, nose, head and mouth. The neck was twisted at an odd angle, probably the cause of his quick but horrible demise.

He glanced back at the rear passenger seats to find that he was the only survivor. The turret gunner, Private First Class Tim Raeon, was slumped against the left door, seatbelt snapped in half and shards of glass implanted in his face. The other passenger, his team leader, Corporal Sammy Hadad, had his right ribs blown off, blood and guts oozed out of the gory orifice.

He turned to his left and searched for his rifle. He caught a glimpse of the barrel and reached out for it. With a grunt of effort, he pulled his battle rifle out of the rubble, only to be extremely frustrated and disappointed with its condition. The rifle was useless, fucked up beyond any repair. It was bent in half, buttstock broken, handguard and upper receiver smashed in and the lower receiver had a piece of metal struck into it. He dropped the useless rifle and whipped out his pocket knife. He hacked his seatbelt off and started to climbed for the front right door.

He carefully climbed over Cortez's body, being mindful to not step on the corpse of his former colleague. He quietly bid them farewell and jumped down the vehicle. Immediately after hitting the ground, he felt a sharp pain coursing through his left leg.

"Ah FUCK!" He bellowed while grasping the APC for support.

"Cortez! Cortez!" He could hear someone shout through the chaotic and intense firefight.

Jumping through the crashed storefront, he spotted two soldiers quickly approaching him. He immediately recognised his platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Ronald Walsh, and the platoon's combat medic, Corporal Daniel "Happy" Kim.

"Christ... Pines, are you alright?" Walsh asked concernly while Kim rushed at him and inspect his condition.

"I- I think I fucked up my left leg, LT..." Pines said through ragged breaths.

Walsh glanced concernly at the combat medic before he nodded back at him, "Here, let me help you out, son." He gently slung the soldier's left arm around his shoulders and started to walk him out of the storefront.

Meanwhile, sporatic gunshots and minor explosions erupted around them in a chaotic symphony of death and destruction.

With Camp Dawnstar distracted and momentarily crippled at Green Hill, more obstacles awaited for the IDDF. And this time, it hit closer to home.

* * *

 _Shinjuku, Tokyo, 2215 hours, October 4th 2022._

Yukio Oikawa stared dreadfully at the bar's neon lights with a deep frown. He pondered silently in the open, among the crowd of drunk and happy go-lucky bar attendees and tourists. He wondered if he should just ditch the meeting and run off to the authorities but immediately faltered mid-thinking. _They_ knew him very well: where he lived, his workplace, his friends and family. They were always a step ahead of him, intentionally keeping him, for the most part, in the dark and away from any crucial details about their plans or the contract he signed with them.

Regretfully, he knew he made a pact with the Devil, and quite literally if he might add.

With a shaken sigh, he glumly headed toward the bar. Once he passed through the glass door, he shortly spotted the very last people he wanted to meet. Nanami Ono sat casually on a bar stool, garmed in an elegant and revealing black and red dress, showing off her smooth and sexy thighs as she sat cross-legged, catching the attention of a few flustered and hungry men. She didn't pay no mind to them, although secretly loving the attention (which he could tell from her slight smirk), Nanami simply took small sips from her glass of passion cocktail.

Yukio could tell that the men wanted a piece of her, but didn't have the courage to make a move on her. The simple fact was that she was also accompanied by a very tall, muscular and intimidating Russian. Ivan Darga was another henchmen employed by her. Despite being physically intimidating, he was also frighteningly smart, too smart in Yukio's taste. That man was pratically the embodiment of a god of war. Before he was a gun for hire, assassin and mercenary instructor, he served twelve years in Russia's most elite units: Spetsnaz GRU and later the FSB's legendary Alfa Group. That man has gone through hundrerds of black operations, and he had the scars to prove them. Death was his mistress, and war was his fuel.

Oikawa slowly made his way towards them, eyes toward the ground to avoid Ivan's cold blue eyes. Hesitantly, he sat on the stool next to Nanami and nervously kept his gaze to his trembling hands. He could barely notice her smiling at the corner of his eye. She made a hand gesture to the bartender. The bar's owner then nodded at a group of men whom have been lounging around quietly. The men were members of the Yakuza, evident by their tattoos.

They stood up, walked up to the other group of drunk and young men and basically beat them out of the bar, before closing it down and lock the door behind them. Then they each took a seat around the bar counter. The owner hurriedly retreated to the kitchen, never to be seen again.

There was a long silent pause. The air was heavy and tense. He could feel every eyes drawn to him, making him feel more pathetic and small.

"You sure took your sweet ass time," Nanami finally said in a light-humoured tone.

Wanting to end this meeting as soon as possible, Yukio rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a USB key, as well as keycards and ID badges. He placed them on the counter and presented the items to her.

"I've done what you've requested, can I leave?" He asked, mentally begging to end it here and there.

Before getting a reply, he got down the stool only to be soon blocked by two Yakuza members, shoving him back on his seat.

"Did you really think that I would let you loose that easily?" She asked sarcastically. She turned around and faced him with a cold, hard gaze, "The boss doesn't want any loose ends, and he wanted me to make sure that my lapdog will behave and keep his mouth trap shut."

She raised her right hand and snapped her fingers before pointing down at the counter. Another mafia henchman brought up a smart tablet showing multiple photographs. She spun the device at Yukio and pointed at the screen.

"Take a look." She instructed coldly.

Yukio leaned forward and squinted his eyes. The picture showed a traditional house from the rural parts of the Japan. At first, he couldn't see well due to the thick trees and bushes that surrounded the house. As he swiped through the images, he got a clearer view of it, and of its inhabitants.

Fear took hold of his beating heart. He instantly recognized the old aged couple and the young woman that were in the outdoor courtyard, laughing and smiling. They were his parents and little sister. His hands curled into tight fists, anger boiled through his veins and he gritted his teeth.

Nanami let out a sly smile. Things were going as planned.

Yukio slapped the tablet across the counter, smashing it on the ground. The sudden outburst of anger was quickly responded with the mafia members drawing out their weapons. Yet he ignored them, his eyes glared deadly daggers at the very woman he loathed the most.

"You fucking bitch!"

"Don't blame me, son. The boss wanted some assurance from your part and I had to persuade you. It's nothing personal, just business." She replied, raising her hands in a placative manner.

He took one step forward and the moment later, he felt intense pain shooting across his face. He felt strong hands grabbing him upward and slamming his back hard on the bar counter. The blade of a huge knife was planted firmly next to his face. He looked up and paled once Ivan's face came into full view. Nanami peered over his shoulder, smiling and giggling.

"What the fuck do you want with me?!" Yukio snapped at her, struggling under Ivan's heavy weight, "I've done everything you bastards wanted!"

"Oh, we know and we do appreciate your cooperation," The blonde woman replied sarcastically, "But your contract isn't over yet. Consider this a warning..." She leaned closer toward his face, her twisted smile widened, "If you ever report this to the authorities, try to sabotage our plans or warn your friends; we will get your family, kill them slowly then burn their corpses along with the house. Have I made myself clear?"

The Hypnos employee nodded nervously, knowing that he had his hands tied and had a pistol pointed behind head, figuratively and sometimes literally. He felt her hand brush across his black hair before petting him like a pet dog.

"Good boy. Now off you go."

On cue, Ivan lifted him up and shoved him to the door. Yukio got back up and took one last glance at the group before leaving the bar in a hurried manner.

Nanami continued to stare at the door before returning to her drink, only to be met with disappointment to find it on the ground, her tequila cocktail split all over the floorboards.

"Damn it..." She turned her gaze to one of the Yakuza members, "Can you get me a glass of whisky, please?"

She sat back on her stool and fetched her phone. She typed in a number and waited for her correspondant to answer.

 _"Nanami?"_ Responded a gruff male voice, _"How did it went?"_

"Peachy! Almost pissed in his pants." She answered with a chuckle, "I've kept him in his place. He shouldn't interfere when we strike." She reassured him. "How about you? How's the meeting with Aleph going on?"

 _"Fucking unbearable..."_ The man grunted, _"These freaks are seriously fucked up in their minds, but they're willing to help us with their "righteous crusade"..."_

"Oooh... so what are they bringing?"

 _"They've got guns, home-made explosives and enough meatshields to contribute with our little operation. They'll be dead by the time the military sends its QRF but I figure they'll hold out long enough for your team."_ He informed Nanami bluntly.

"Well that's great. I'll go report it to the boss. See you at my place?" She asked with a hint of excitement.

The man chuckled dryly, _"Would love to, but I have a relationship to maintain now."_

"She's a freaking sex-worker, she only wants the money, not your dick or your love."

 _"At least she doesn't want to put stuff up my ass..."_ He countered firmly.

"Oh come on! That was a one-time thing and you loved that-"

"Uh ma'am..." Ivan interrupted her, handing out his smartphone, "The boss wants to speak with you."

She sighed and nodded at him, "We'll talk about this later, ok?"

 _"I can't wait..."_

* * *

 _Amber Forest, Sword Zone, 0200 hours, October 4th 2022._

Far away from the frontline, stretching much of Sword Zone's Eastern regions, lay the calm and colourful Amber Forest. It was a specially peaceful night, despite the ongoing conflict at the other side of the Zone. But that would change soon.

Quietly and meticulously weaving through the trees were faint shadows, only betrayed by the rare bright rays of the digital moon. About three dozen of these silhouette-like spectres were spread out in a single line formation, keeping a steady and disciplined pace. Despite being numerous for this particular night, they rarely made any noise, apart from the soft crunching of dead leaves and branches.

The spectres were approaching a small lumber camp, located in the middle of a large clearing. Just as they came sight of the lumber camp, as if on command, they suddenly and expertly hid themselves in the shrubbery and shadows, blending in perfectly with their environment.

The lumber camp was spacious and very open, there were no signs of chain-linked fences or gates in the vicinity. Infiltrating it would be a piece of cake for them. There were only two long log cabins, a small wooden tool shack and couple of tents laid out sporatically. Heaps of large tree trunks were sprawled out in and around the camp.

It was evident that the camp was directed either by a small, local company or by amateurs. It was enough for them to confirm their destination, their objective point.

 _"Spartan 6, this is Nightwatcher, FLIR picked up at least a dozen heat signatures. Main target is in the log cabin to your ten. You have greenlight to kill or capture the HVT. Execute authority on other targets. Over."_

Slowly, the spectres crept out of their cover and moved in to the camp. They were humans, entirely clad in black uniforms and balaclavas, shielding their eyes behind their L-3 GPNVG-18, the iconic, four-tubed nightvision goggles wore by numerous special operations forces units. The panoramic NVGs gave these men an almost otherworldly appearances. For unit identification, they only had a dark grey patch of a horned skull on their left shoulder.

"This is Spartan 6. Going dark." The commanding officer announced in a hushed voice, signaling the start of the operation.


	14. To Fight Another Day

Chapter 14:

To Fight Another Day

 _Camp Tolkien, 2247 hours, October 3rd 2022._

Saviorhackmon quietly entered the headquarters tent, set up by Royal Knight Order soldiers soon after their arrival. The rest of the Royal Knights were present, along with colonel Dorbickmon, Lieutenant Gaioumon and other high-ranking officers of the IDDF. Duftmon was giving his fellow knights a debrief of their current situation as well as of the other units that were scattered across the warzone.

"Alphamon and Examon have successfully punched through the enemy line, managing to link up with the American and Japanese forces at Autumn's bridge," Duftmon explained as a matter-of-fact, "Unfortunately, I have lost contact with Rhodoknightmon and his forces. Their last known location was at Spring River, four clicks North-East of the town of Harudorf." He pointed at the map on the table. "As we speak, Alphamon's and Examon's task forces are clearing a path between us and Autumn's bridge."

"And what about Dukemon?" Magnamon asked concernly.

"He and Brigadier-General Slayerdramon have been captured by the enemy. The fate of their soldiers and the human detachment remains unknown." Duftmon stated coldly.

Omegamon nodded pensively, studying the map while taking into consideration their current status. His forces have arrived a day too late due to logistical problems and the constant harrassment of D-Brigade air raids. The Sword Zone's government is non-existant, its military on the brink of total annihilation, barely holding thanks to Colonel Dorbickmon's leadership.

Eventhough they've survived and the reinforcements have arrived, it wasn't enough to turn the tide. Sword Zone was lost and Omegamon must sadly accept that fact. The Royal Knights must regroup and stall the invaders long enough for the civilians to evacuate to nearby allied states. The Metal Empire can have the land but not its people.

With a solemn sigh, he shifted his gaze to Dorbickmon. The battle-hardened red dragon was covered in bandages and bruises, visibly exhausted yet still managed to stand among his peers with dignity and authority. He may be beaten but he would not go down without a fight.

"Colonel Dorbickmon," He called him, grabbing the senior officer's attention, "What is the current strenght of your forces?" He asked inquisitively.

Dorbickmon crossed his arms over his chest, huffing tiredly, "With High Command now out of the picture, most of the defense force is either dead or MIA. We're all that's left of the military... so I would say about five hundred to six hundred soldiers."

Saviorhackmon grimaced behind his helmet. The fighting has been tougher than expected. The D-Brigade was extremely aggressive and ruthless but very calculated. Fracture has been preparing months ahead for this very conflict, it just needed an excuse to start one. And they've got one thanks to the built-up tension caused by the numerous terrorist attacks.

"I suggest that we dig in and fortify our positions," Omegamon stated confidently, "We should buy Ambassador Angewomon more time for her to evacuate the general population. We should regroup and regather our strenghts and reorganize our forces. The CNS and IDDF are sending more troops and material as we speak but we must hold our ground until then."

The other officers expressed their agreement. Duftmon leaned over the map and pointed at Autumn's Bridge, "Our number one priority is to link up with the Americans and Japanese over there. That bridge is vital at keeping the D-Brigade from having a major supply highway. We keep it and they will have no choice but to spread out their supply routes, becoming easy pickings for our air forces."

Colonel Naoki Kamo hummed with approuval, "And once we control the air, we can mount up multiple ground offensives to rescue the POWs." He added thoughtfully.

"Indeed. The D-Brigade may have won this round, but we have slowed down their entire invasion force to a grinding halt. We can turn this into our favour."

Suddenly, their meeting was interrupted by frantic running and the tent's flaps brushed apart. An Ex-Veemon rushed into the tent and respectfully bowed his head to Omegamon, panting heavily while doing so.

"At ease, trooper," Captain Ouryuumon instructed flatly, "What is the meaning of this sudden interruption?"

"The D-Brigade has sent a messenger, sir. He is requesting to speak with the Royal Knights and Colonel Dorbickmon." The soldier explained hurriedly.

"To speak with us?" Dorbickmon raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

"Storm Commander Raijinmon wants to negociate for a cease fire."

Everyone in the tent glanced at each other with surprise and confusion written on their faces.

The D-Brigade wants to negociate for peace?

* * *

 _Amber Forest, 0245 hours, October 4th 2022._

"Nightwatcher, this is Spartan 6." McKinley announced through his headset while moving through the woods, "Be advised: HVT has been executed. We have two POWs and three wounded. Requesting MEDEVAC at LZ Heineken. Over."

 _"Spartan 6, Nightwatcher. Copy that. The extraction team inbound to LZ Heineken. ETA: twelve mikes. Over."_

"Roger that, Nightwatcher. Spartan 6, out."

The CIA operatives traversed the woodland at a rapid pace, dragging with them two bound digimon and helping out the wounded: one was being carried while the two others were limping, trying to catch up. A fire-team lagged behind the main unit, covering their retreat.

The raid went as smooth as it should be, with little resistance. The terrorists were caught off guard and were quickly dispatched. The High-Value Target, Nohemon, was among the few to fight back, resulting with their execution during the crossfire. Although Overlord preferred the Nohemon to be brought alive, two prisonners were enough to compensate such loss in intel.

The platoon managed to reach their designated landing zone, located right at the edge of Amber Forest. Although all of the threats at the lumber camp were eliminated, the operatives may run the risk of encountering hostile units in the AO. They forcefully shoved their prisonners, a Bearmon and a Flawizarmon, on the ground while setting up a defensive firing line. Two SAD operators kept a constant eye on the two terrorists, ready to execute them on the spot if the situation requires it.

McKinley flipped up his NODs and perked up at the starry night sky. He could faintly hear the sound of rotorblades whisking through the air. The extraction team was nearing their LZ. It was made up of two British Apache AH1 and a Chinook HC3, courtersy of Task Force "Vulture".

"Mark the LZ!" He ordered his men. "Hammerhead 2, this is Spartan 6. Be advised: LZ Heineken has been marked. How copy? Over."

 _"Spartan 6, Hammerhead 2. Solid copy. We see the LZ. ETA: one mike. Over."_ The pilot of the Chinook replied calmly.

"Spartan 6, out."

The attack helicopters spread out and circled around the landing zone as the Chinook landed and began the extraction. The Apaches made sure no hostiles would dare to open fire at their guys on the ground. Like a pair of hungry sharks, they kept circling around, searching for their preys and ready to blast them with 30mm rounds, Hellfire missiles and CRV7 rockets.

Once all CIA operatives were on-board the Chinook, "Warden" McKinley gave the greenlight to the extraction team. As swiftly as they appeared, the helicopters were gone in the dead of the night.

In the transport helicopter, a small team of British Army medics tended to the wounded while the terrorists have been blindfolded and bound to their seats. McKinley was approached by his second-in-command, Agent "Maverick" Morris, sporting a constant grumpy look. The older CIA agent sat next to him and took off his helmet, rearranging his greying brown hair.

"It's unfortunate that puppet has to die!" He stated loudly over the whirlwind of the Chinook's tandem rotors. "Anyways, what's next, boss?"

"We head back to HQ, drop off our prisonners and proceed with interrogating them." McKinley replied.

"What about the dude we left at Juniper Pine?" He responded with a shrug, not giving a care about the scout they left bound in his home, "And his brother?" Morris added curiously.

"Dead," He answered neutrally, "He'll be executed in two days. There's no point in wasting a JDAM for an already dead digimon." He further explained with disturbing calmness.

"Good to know."

And it was the truth. General Yamamoto had no plans to launch a search-and-rescue operation for any outsider of the IDDF. He had given the CIA a blank cheque to track down the terrorists and capture or kill their leader, Weregarurumon X, by any means necessary. That much range of freedom allowed the CIA to request more resources and assets for their future operations. Of course, Yamamoto has the final say and not the US government.

So far, the Japanese general has been in favour of their methods. McKinley plans to keep it that way. Maybe after the terrorist leader was eliminated, the US will get more control over the Gate. That was his mission: to gain more power for Washington.

* * *

 _Ginza District, Japan, 07:20 AM, October 5th 2022._

Private First Class Totoya "Taka" Tatsuda was manning the district's Western checkpoint. His squad leader, Sergeant Mura stood next to him, hands on his service hip holster. Both military policemen wore the iconic white Type 66 helmet and white safety cross belts over their lightweight level IIIA ballistic vest.

"You're good to go, sir." Sergeant Mura said after verifying an ID card from another JSDF personnel. He turned to Tatsuda and nodded.

The soldier walked over to the checkpoint's automatic sliding gate... and _manually_ pushed it open. Once the last car went through the checkpoint, Taka, with much effort, manually pulled the gate shut. He walked back to his squad leader, slightly panting.

"Man... why does it have to break down today?" He complained with irritation.

"Don't worry, kiddo, the repair crew should fix it by noon." Mura said with a mocking grin.

"Awww man!" Taka groaned, exasperated.

Mura chuckled and gave the young trooper a friendly pat on the back of his head, "Welcome to the suck." He humourously told him.

While Mura returned to his post, Tatsuda decided to look out at the street outside of the security perimeter. The fortified district saw an increase in defensive structures. Now a wall made of steel, concrete and barbed wire surrounded Ginza and its various checkpoints, to deter raids and attacks from pro-peace protesters.

The irony wasn't lost to the men and women whom were tasked with guarding the militarized district.

Off in the distance, he spotted a small convoy of three black vans. Suspicious to him, he kept his eyes trained on the vehicles as they approached the wall's automatic barrier gate. The barrier opened, the vans carefully and slowly drove through the Jersey barrier obstacles set up by the JSDF. These barriers were set up in a way to force the drivers to move slowly and in a zig-zag pattern. Should a suicide vehicle try to force its way through, the driver would have a bad and hard time to accomplish that.

Gradually, the black vans made it through the barriers and drove toward him and the electrical gate. Sergeant Mura walked out of his post and motionned Tatsuda to man the gate.

Tatsuda jogged toward the gate while the sergeant checked the drivers' and passengers' ID cards. Once at the gate, he glanced at his squad leader for permission to open the gate. He allowed with a simple wave of his hand. As he begins to push the gate open, the first van slowly drove up to him, patiently waiting for the gate to open fully.

The van passed through without much trouble. Just as he was about to pull it, he heard shouting followed by the angry roar and screeches of the second van's engines and wheels, respectively.

The vehicle sped through the checkpoint, almost crushing Tatsuda. It smashed through the unclosed gate, a good chunk of it ripped apart. Tatsuda immediately responded with accurate semi-automatic fire from his Type-89 assault rifle, aiming for the vehicle's wheels and driver seat.

All of the sudden, he felt a wave of extreme heat wash over him, followed by a strong concussion that violently threw him off the ground. He hit the asphalt to the ear-shattering sound of an explosion.

The explosion got the attention of every military personnel residing in Ginza, including the reinforcements requested by Yamamoto. There a moment of silence in the chaotic mess. The air froze for but a second. Then all hell let loose. Armed assailants jumped out of the vans and opened fire at the confused soldiers around them. A bloody battle occurred in Ginza.

Soldiers of the IDDF were engaged with fanatics of the Aleph doomsday cult, evident by the red Aum Shinrikyo symbol drawn on their ominous white face masks.

* * *

 _Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku, fifteen minutes ago._

Maki Himekawa made her way toward Yamaki's office. In her right hand, she held the folder with her report during her deployment in the Digital World. However, she also held an employee's recruitment document... well a former employee of Hypnos, someone whom held a very important position in the agency.

Their investigation started by looking into the motive of the culprit. "Why?" and more importantly: "how?". This has led her to believe that the culprit must have extensive knowledge of the system and of the Network to be able to communicate with digimon from Japan.

This would also explain why the "Juggernaut" would pick up faint disturbances in its firewall without being too noticeable. Maki had to thank Tally to provide her with that crucial information. How that actually correlated, she didn't really know... she just hoped to get more info from Yamaki.

Which leads to now.

She slowed down her pace upon reaching the office door and firmly knocked on it. She waited until she heard a muffled _"come in"._ She opened the door and quietly closed it behind her as she noticed that her boss was still on the phone. Yamaki gave her a nod of acknowledgement and gestured her to his desk. She complied and waited patiently in front of his desk. She mentally noted that he looked frustrated and stressed out yet kept a calm and firm voice during his call.

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir." He nodded each reply, "Very well, I'll get it done by tomorrow, sir. Good day to you as well, sir." He released a heavy sigh, his hands on his hips, before looking back at Maki. "How can I help you, Himekawa-san?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could give me access to the list of former employees that worked with Project Juggernaut?" She asked cautiously, awaiting for a harsh and cold response.

"Uuh, sure. Just ask Sada-san from HR. She'll probably get you that list." Yamaki replied nonchalantly.

Maki looked her boss curiously. "Aren't you keeping track of the members of Juggernaut?"

"Why should I be?" He asked confusedly.

"I mean, Juggernaut is to be a secret project. Former members whom worked on it, shouldn't we keep a close eye on them?" She responded incredulously, completely dumbfounded by Hypnos' lack of accountability and ability to maintain secrecy of its works.

"That is not our responsibility. That belongs to the government."

"That wasn't the response I got from the Ministry of Defense..."

"Well that's because it is managed by the Public Security Intelligence Agency." He said as a matter-of-fact.

"What does the kōanchōsa-chō has anything to do with us or our work? Aren't we suppose to be part of the Ministry of Finance from the start?" She pressed on, further confused with the information she was getting.

Just as he was about to respond, the landline phone of his desk rung loudly, catching both of their attentions. "Hold on a minute..." He told her before he picked it up to answer.

The windows shattered violently, the entire building trembled as they lost their footing and fell, forcefully shoved by a powerful blast. An earthshaking explosion ruptured through the entire block. The deafening detonation detroyed every window frames of the Metropolitan Government Building. The emergency fire bells blared loudly in the halls and corridors. Panicked screaming and shuffling of running feet could be heard just outside of the office.

Maki groggily got back up, intense bells ringing inside her ears. Past the shattered window frames, she spotted a thick plume of black smoke rising from one of the Metropolitan Assembly Building. She staggered forward, getting a clearer and wider view of the devastation left by the sudden explosion.

A wild inferno was spreading across the two front eight-story buildings, chewing through concrete, glass and steel. She could see people engulfed in flames jumping out of the windows and falling to their demise. Numerous corpses laid spread out across the courtyard while hundreds of employees and tourists rush out in a panic.

She snapped back to reality and turned around to find Yamaki heaving and holding onto his desk.

"Are you alright, sir?" She asked worringly.

"Yeah..." He grunted, "Just some minor cuts..." Half of his white shirt was stained by dark red patches of blood, leaking out of tears and holes made by the blast of glass he took earlier. "What about you?"

She ran a finger under nose then a hand on her forehead. She winced and looked the hand. It was covered in her blood, which confirmed the warm liquid flowing out of her nose and the metallic back taste in her mouth. She spat out to get rid of the rancid taste before she checked herself for any more injuries.

"Just some cuts and a minor concussion, sir." She finally replied.

He nodded and reached out for a drawer under his desk. He pulled out a Glock 17 and two magazines. "Get to the computer room and evacuate all personnel. Tell Riley to begin data transfer of all of our assets and to shut down Juggernaut if the need arises." He instructed coldly, "And I also want all trained personnel to protect the computer room. Get yourself a weapon as well... we may have company."

* * *

Being in a firefight, though trained for it, wasn't what he imagined when he signed up to work with Hypnos. But here he was, with five others, in an office building and fighting off heavily armed and well trained terrorists.

"This is really not my fucking day!" Daigo swore as bullets hissed over him.

Crouched down behind a desk cubicle, he leaned to his right and of cover to riposte. He immediately suppressed by a burst from a kalashnikov. His teammates, two security agents and three Hypnos employees, were scattered across the office area, each behind their own cubicles and trying to fire back.

The assailants had the fire and number superiority, outgunning and outpacing the small security force that Hypnos employed. The gunmen mercilessly executed every employee they see, armed or not. Rivers of blood and bodies could be found in every corner of the area. Bullet holes and splatters of blood decorated the walls and ceilings in a macabre reminder of the current massacre going on.

A surprised scream followed by a heavy thud caught his attention. Further down the office hall, Daigo noticed a security officer crawling away from harm's way, leaving a thick trail of blood and cursing loudly.

"Sonavabitch!"

"You alright, Ozawa?!" His colleague shouted hurriedly.

"I'm hit pretty bad!" The wounded agent replied dryly.

"Ishida!" Daigo called out, "You get him out of here, we'll cover you. Got it?"

"HAI!"

"Cover fire!"

The others returned fire, firing in rapid successions their pistols. The second security officer, Ishida, rushed of his cover and toward the wounded Ozawa. Daigo fired three rounds down the hall, hitting a gunman in his shoulder. The terrorists quickly responded with a volley of automatic fire. The hard hitting bullets chipped through their thin cover.

Another agent fell dead on the ground, his entire torso riddled with bloody gunshot wounds. Daigo hid back behind his cover, about to reload only to stop in mid-action, seeing the two officers lying lifelessly on the ground. He swore under his breath and reloaded his handgun. He glanced up and stared at the fire sprinklers. He looked around for the emergency fire alarm and spotted the iconic red button further down the hall, near the bodies of the two officers.

He glanced back at his two remaining colleagues, stalling the attackers but not for long. With a deep sigh, he sprinted out of cover and toward the fire alarm. He cleanly smashed the glass and activated the fire sprinklers, dowsing the entire floor in cold water and ran toward the computer room, leaving them behind.

"Advance!" Nanami shouted angrily, feeling irritated by the fire sprinklers.

Her henchmen complied, opening fire while advancing. The remaining agents were quickly gunned down. They continued down the hall, scanning for more targets at slow and careful pace. Nanami followed just behind them, peeking behind each cubicle she came across. She walked over the bodies of the two security officers and put a bullet in each of their heads with the M1911A1, blasting their skulls to pieces and gore.

"Let's pick up the pace, gents! The cops won't take too long to get here!" She ordered them sternly. "Spread out and remember: I want Yamaki alive!"

Meanwhile in the computer room, Maki was organizing the evacuation while Tally and Riley transfer the servers' data into back-up external hard drives. With them were also several armed security guards and Hypnos agents with weapons training. They quickly barricaded the double doors with every thing they could find.

"All personnel evacuated, Riley-san!" Maki informed her loudly, "We need to get out of here fast!"

"Can't, we still need to deactivate all of our servers and Juggernaut." Riley replied calmly.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Maki exclaimed in bewilderment, "If Juggernaut is off, we'll have a massive breach in the Network."

"Not with the Yuggoth program on," Tally chimed in, "At the very least, we'll have a temporary firewall until all of this is over. By the way, where's Daigo?"

"Don't know. I couldn't reach him." Riley answered. She turned to Yukio, still working on deleting all the data that they've already backed-up. "Yukio, try to get access to our security cams!"

"Eh? How? The monitor room is outside those doors!" Yukio reminded her nervously.

"Here, take my badge." She ordered him with grunt, "You'll get access to its software. The password's my date of birth."

"Got it!" Yukio replied hurriedly after catching her ID badge.

Outside of the room, the firefight seemed to get louder and fiercer as their last line of defense fend off the terrorists. Cries of pain and anger could be heard just beyond their small barricade. The small barks of pistol fire were drowned out by the roars of automatic fire from assault rifles and shotguns.

 _"Fuck! Right side! Right side!"_

 _"I'm pinned down! Need cover fire!"_

 _"Fall back! Fall b- AAARGH!"_

 _"I'm hit! Someone get hel-"_

 _"No!no!no!no! Wait!"_

 _"P-please... don't kil-"_

A loud crack from an assault rifle silenced the last man. The air was tense as the remaining Hypnos agents waited nervously for the terrorists to attack. Everyone in the room froze in place, except for Riley, working as quickly as possible.

"Tally-"

She was immediately interrupted by the sound of a powerful explosion; the shockwave rippling across the room, a sudden wave of heat washed over them, followed by the angry firecrackers of guns opening up. A wall of rounds stormed through the thick cloud of smoke, eating away computers and humans. Many of the dazed and injured agents fell lifelessly in their own pools of blood.

Tally got back up and quickly began to deactivate the servers – She screamed in pain as a round lodged itself into her right shoulder blade. She fell down harshly and crawled her way toward Riley. Her friend quickly grabbed hold of her and embrassed her dearly like a child, staring at the aggressors in defiance.

"Shouldn't have done that, miss." Nanami said in a mocking tone. She then pointed her handgun at Maki and shot her in the stomach.

Maki instantly fell on her back, the round knocking the wind out of her. Thankfully, her lightweight ballistic vest caught the bullet, but she knew that the pain will only increase much later. She remained on the ground, grunting and gasping for much needed air.

More terrorists poured in the room and spread out, circling around the three women and Yukio. Nanami grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. She forcefully yanked him off the ground and violently whipped him on his back with her weapon. The man shouted in agony and groaned heavily, shaking like a leaf. The blonde woman then looked back at Riley.

"I'm gonna ask you a favour. In exchange, I'll leave you and the rest of your friends alive. If not, then I'll execute them one at a time. Got it?" She asked sternly.

Riley glanced at her remaining colleagues. They were either dead, wounded or at the mercy of the gunmen, their weapons drawn on them. There was no way out of here. Either she sacrificed everyone in this room, including herself or she would spare them but let the terrorists have what they wanted.

"What do you want?" Riley inquired with a frown.

"Those hard drives. I want everything you've got in those servers stored in them." Nanami answered firmly.

"That might take some time, maybe an hour." Riley explained diplomatically.

"Then give me the Juggernaut's program." The hostage taker reiterated.

"How the hell do you know of its existence?" Maki asked through pained groans and hisses.

"Well, I do have some... solid intel on Hypnos _buuut_ unfortunately time's money and my client is paying a hefty price for it. Now on with it!" She emphasized by driving her knee into Yukio's guts.

The man doubled over and coughed harshly, spitting out saliva and blood. Riley growled lowly and gently rested Tally against the desk beside her. She stood up and proceeded with transfering the requested data into the HDD she was using previously. In less than a minute, the data was beginning its transfer.

"There, fifteen minutes until its done." Riley said bitterly.

"Thank you..." Nanami smiled wickedly and turned to her men, "Put them out of their miseries." She ordered.

"WAI-"

Riley suddenly felt a powerful force punching her to the ground. She stared at the white ceiling, feeling a hot sensation leaking out of her chest. She ran her fingers across her chest and looked back at them in horror. Her fingers were caked in a deep red colour. Hot searing pain shot through her body as her nerves went haywire. Panic and fear set in her as she desperately gasped for air. She could hear the last cries of her friends and coworkers before being silenced by gunshots.

Nanami released Yukio, "Make sure that the transfer goes smoothly..." She looked around as her men executed the remaining survivors. She then gazed back down at Yukio, still lying on the ground, sobbing quietly. "Hey! Get back to work, you sorry excuse of a man!" She snarled after she violently kicked him in the guts.

Yukio coughed loudly and slowly got to his feet and toward the computer. He walked past the wounded Tally, staring at him with desperation and confusion. "I'm so sorry..." He muttered to her before an insurgent hovered the barrel of his shotgun above her face.

He closed his eyes as he awaited for the inevitable boom of the shotgun, but instead he felt a splash of warm liquid all over his left side. He re-opened his eyes and saw the insurgent laying dead on the ground, the top half of his skull blown up. Tally screamed in shock and disgust, covered in the man's blood.

Immediately after rounds started to fly around him. He instinctively ducked and covered his head with his arms while trying to block his ears from the loud, rapid gunshots.

"Damn it!" Nanami sneered, "Kill them!" She bellowed sternly at her henchmen. _"Crap, they got here sooner then expected..."_ She noted dreadfully.

Heavily armed police officers intervened just in time to stop the ongoing massacre. A wall of ballistic shields and automatic firearms slowly moved toward the computer room, returning fire as they advanced.

The terrorists, outmatched and exposed in the open, were quickly gunned down in the initial barrage of fire. Only a handful were quick enough to take cover and return fire. Nanami swore under her breath and hastilly snatched the hard drive off its port, the transfer wasn't done yet but she hoped that she would still get paid nonetheless. She quickly made a run for the fire exit, leaving her men behind to die.

Though few, the terrorists didn't give up, not without a fight. In response to be outnumbered, they still had one trick up their sleeves: explosives. In a single volley, they threw frag grenades and sticks of dynamite down the corridor. With the police officers so tightly packed together, it's a perfect opportunity to blast them to pieces with a couple of explosives... and it was deadly effective.

The first two grenades blew apart the shield wall, dispersing the officers and wounding a few. The second volley was the killing blow. With their wall down, the grenades landed right in the middle of the cluster. The devastating explosions ripped through their ranks. Blood, flesh and guts washed all over the corridor, men laid dying on the ground with their backs burned or chests eviscerated in their own pool of gore and blood. They were torn to pieces and shredded by the hot metal fragments. The sight was scarring enough that even Yukio couldn't help but stare at it in horror.

The terrorists walked out of cover and marched toward the officers, cocking their weapons to finish them off. But they were neutralized by a blur of white and yellow. Out of nowhere, they were picked off by a mirage. The unknown entity was merciless with them, as if God has sent his own Angel of Death.

With brutal speed and efficiency, the terrorists were taken out of action, lying and moaning in pain. Bones were cracked and muscles pounded to a pulp. They weren't dead, but they were experiencing to most painful moment of their lives.

"Renamon!" Tally cried with relief, hot tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Renamon quickly spun around and sprinted toward Tally and Riley. She knelt down and applied pressure to Riley's gunshot wound.

"Maki, are you still up?" She asked stoically.

"Y-yes, ma'am..." Maki replied as she groggily sat up, her chest still throbbing with pain.

"I'm going to need your shirt to cover Riley's wound." The digimon instructed.

"Got it!" Maki hurriedly replied, taking off her bulletproof vest and her white long sleeved shirt.

"R-rena-mon..." Riley muttered weakly, taking hold of the digimon's right paw shakingly.

"Don't worry, Riley. You're going to be fine, help's on the way." The kitsune reassured her confidently, but deep down, she was extremely worried of her condition. She noted that she has already lost too much blood; a half hour longer and she might be dead due to blood loss.

Maki reached the wounded woman and replaced Renamon, gently applying the shirt over the wound and pressing her hands on it, preventing blood to leak out. Renamon then turned to Yukio, still in a catatonic state.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" She shouted at him, getting his immediate attention, "Help me out over here. Now!" She ordered him sternly. Fear was the only way to get those of the faint of heart to move and be useful. "Just like your friend, I'm going to need your shirt to stop the bleeding. Got it?"

Yukio nodded fearfully.

"Thank the Heavens you're here, Renamon." Tally said with a heavy sigh, "If it weren't for your help, I don't know if-"

"Don't think about it." Renamon cut in swiftly, "You're still alive and that's all to matter. Keep focusing on staying alive, alright?" The young woman nodded meekly, "Help's on the way."

"Gosh, aren't you a sight for sore eyes..." She joked with a sly smile.

"I know, I get that a lot." Renamon replied with her own grin.

She stood back up and examined the carnage around her. It was gruesome and a tragic scene. So many innocents were killed today. She stared at one of the terrorists and only felt a burning fury boiling in her veins. Thoughts of torture came to mind but she banished those desires as quickly as they came.

She was better than them. She has already been through the hellish and chaotic environment of war, as a digimon and as a soldier. She has seen enough death in her lifetime. Now, she is a mother, a family to maintain. She wouldn't forgive herself if she acted like a monster. Her daughter and Guilmon wouldn't approve either.

In the distance, she could hear the shouts of the paramedics and police officers, making their way towards them to assist and evacuate the wounded. She raised her arm up and waved at them, beckoning them to pick up the pace.

This will be a long day...

* * *

 _Ginza District, 08:45 AM._

Medics and soldiers worked tiredlessly and professionally as they sort out the dead and evacuate the wounded. Dozens of ambulances and military vehicles go back and forth between the district and the nearest hospitals.

Right beside the entrance, a squad of MP troopers rounded up the few captured terrorists, each were either wounded or badly beaten up. Police and ambulance sirens blared across the district as more vehicles arrived. About three kilometers away from the base, military and police checkpoints were established on each major street that runs through the militarized zone.

The checkpoints served two purposes: to plug any potential exit for any suspecting terrorists that may still reside in the search area, and to prevent civilians and the media news teams to storm the district.

Major General Kazufumi Ryuzaki observed quietly as he took in the sight of the horrible attack. Next to him stood the highest-ranking medical officer on base, a small notebook in hand. The colonel was covered in ash and dried and fresh blood stains, indicating that he was in the thick of the action.

"For now the casualty is as it follows: 49 killed in total, including 3 foreigners and 12 civilian personnel. A total of 62 wounded, including 7 foreigners and 8 civilian personnel. And there has been report of 17 missing personnel, military and civilian. Most of the casualties were caused by the bomb but the numbers may rise due to the fact that many are in critical conditions." The doctor informed stoically.

"Is that all, colonel?" Ryuzaki asked.

"Yes, sir. That is all for now."

The general nodded, "Return to your duties, doctor. And thank you... for being there for them. You and your team have saved many lives today." He stated with sad smile. "We owe you one."

"You can thank us later, when the dust clears and we'll get the final results ." The doctor replied before returning to his duties.

The general fetched for his service issued phone and contacted the Minister of Defense.

 _"What's the status, general?"_ Came Tarō Kanō's expectant response.

"Not good, sir. 49 dead, 62 wounded and 17 missing in action."

He could hear the minister sigh heavily and rub his forehead, _"Are your assets still on standby, general?"_

"Yes, general." Ryuzaki answered, "Should I take them off the expedition?" He asked knowingly, as if predicting the following course of action.

 _"There's a high chance that we'll need them here. The Prime Minister has arranged an emergency meeting. He wants to see you by 9:30, don't be late."_

* * *

 _Camp Tolkien, Sword Zone, 0620 hours, October 4th 2022._

Peace reigned over the battlefield, but the air was thick with tension, almost electrifying and ready to blow up at the slighest touch. Since yesterday night, a ceasefire was established by both belligerents. Alphamon and his task force managed to reach the destroyed camp in the early hours of the morning and got a briefing and status report from Omegamon and Dorbickmon.

Much to their surprise, Raijinmon has agreed to meet them for talks inside the base, as long as he was allowed to be escorted by a small party of his own soldiers. They, in turn, agreed to his terms and the meeting was set at 0630 hours.

A clear blue sky and a bright sun greeted the exhausted soldiers on the field that day. It was a welcoming sight and a change from the bitter winds and cold rain. Despite the favorable weather, the soldiers in camp Tolkien were on edge and uneasy. And Alphamon didn't fault them. He too was sceptical about this and was concerned if all of this wasn't a ploy to attack them by surprise or to mask any enemy troop movement.

"Movement! Five hundred meters, across no man's land!" A human soldier shouted, his right eye behind his rifle's optical sight. "Five pax, they're moving with a white flag up."

Alphamon and some of his Royal Knights walked up to the improvised barricade wall and observed the barren battlefield. Indeed, they spotted Raijinmon followed by two Knightmon, a Darkdramon and an Imperialdramon Fighter mode. Soon, the humans started to take positions along the wall, weapons drawn up and ready to open fire at a moment's notice.

"Captain, tell your men to stand down." Dorbickmon's gravely voice instructed calmly.

"Stand down! Stand down!"

Relunctantly, the soldiers withdrew their weapons, though they remained on their guard. The Japanese and American troopers manning the heavy machine guns and grenade machine guns on some of the few watchtowers and rooftops kept a close eye on the Storm Commander and his bodyguards.

Dorbickmon and Alphamon decided to greet their new visitors at the entrance of the camp.

"Sire Alphamon, Colonel Dorbickmon," Raijinmon began politely, "A great pleasure to finally meet you." He bowed respectfully.

"Commander." Dorbickmon mimicked the gesture.

"Storm Commander." Alphamon acknowledged with a nod. He presented his right hand, which Raijinmon gladly took it in a firm handshake. He then peeked a glance at the four other digimon. He noted that they were all officers except for Darkdramon, whom was a Colour Sergeant. "Are they-"

"Yes, they are my bodyguards. They will also accompany me in the negociation meeting. Is that alright with you, Colonel?" Raijinmon gazed curiously at the lesser ranked officer.

Dorbickmon simply nodded, but the Royal Knight could tell that he wasn't too happy about it, nor was he too keen on negociating either. It took a lot of convincing from him, Omegamon and Duftmon to get to this point. However, the red dragon digimon was a former grunt, a simple rank-and-file soldier, before he crawled through the ranks... and the many battles that came with his line of work. His scars are the living proof of his combat experiences.

"Then shall we begin, gentlemen?" Raijinmon asked.

The pair led them to the – still standing – base headquarters. In the meeting room, Alphamon and Omegamon partake in the negociations on the behalf of the CNS. Colonel Kamo, being the highest-ranking officer present, participated in the talkings, representing the IDDF and the UN. Finally, Dorbickmon represented his nation and he will have the last word to the fate of his fellow soldiers, citizens and homeland.

"Would you like to begin, Storm Commander?" Omegamon asked courtly after they were served a water bottle.

"Certaintly..." Raijinmin cleared his throat and leveled his gaze with Dorbickmon. "Emperor Chaosdramon wants to end this war, in exchange with your surrender-"

"So what? He expects me to just keel over and let Sword Zone be ruled by the Metal Empire?" The colonel asked sarcastically.

"Actually, he actually wants to integrate Sword Zone into the empire as an allied state. He is even willing to appoint you as "state senator"." Raijinmon clarified diplomatically.

"So what do we get in exchange?"

"By pledging your allegiance, you will receive financial and military aid as well as infrastructure repairs and access to our natural resources." He answered as a matter-of-fact, "Of course, in exchange, there will be taxes to pay – not too ludicrous by the way- and we also demand access to your resources and establish trading partnership; among other things."

"I think emperor Chaosdramon has forgotten that the CNS do provide the necessary aid and services to every state members, the Metal Empire included." Omegamon asserted, trying to dissuade Dorbickmon from Raijinmon's terms.

"That may be true for us last week, but as you know, we left and so does seven other state members have left the organization. And it will only keep up with the direction it is currently going."

"The CNS is still improving and updating to the situation of the Digiworld. You cannot expect it to be perfect when we're barely pass two years after its creation." Alphamon argued justly.

"True, but even your Order sees its errors," Raijinmon countered, his defiant gaze matching with Alphamon's, "It should also be noted that the organization was created by the humans to mirror their equivalent in our world. Which is improbable to succeed since our worlds are too different to begin with. Such mindset is bound for failure." He then turned to Colonel Kamo, eyes narrowed to a scowl, " _Humans_ do not know this world or our kind. They should've left after the war."

"What are you implying there, commander?" Kamo asked promptly, arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm implying that your _kind_ shouldn't be the one to dictate how things work in the Digiworld. If we should have our equivalent to the United Nations, then it should be created by Digimon, for Digimon and the Network. Your kind doesn't understand this world."

" _Humanity_ created you and the Digital World." Kamo responded.

"Created, but not lived. Mankind didn't even knew this world existed until the Tokyo invasion." The Storm Commander retaliated.

Kamo remained silent. Omegamon stared at him, waiting for a reply but even he knew that he couldn't counter that statement. It was true after all. The CNS was created – in part – by Humans to mirror the UN. And as such, it had unrealistic objectives. That was the reason why the Order broke off from the organization soon after its creation. The humans may be their creators, but they didn't even acknowledged them until recently. And what have they brought? Nothing but more deaths and suffering.

Meanwhile, Dorbickmon was deep in his thoughts. The fate of his homeland rested on his shoulders. But considering the current state of Sword Zone, he wasn't representing much. For all he knew, the citizens of Sword Zone are the soldiers under his command, whom he fought with for the past week. It is clear to him that he wasn't going to win this war, the most that he could do was to stall the enemy while ambassador Angewomon evacuates the civilians away from the frontline... and she did just that. The entire western region is now empty. Its cities and towns are left abandonned or damaged by the war.

Although he wanted Sword Zone to stay in the CNS, he too has lost faith into the organization. The IDDF's Second Expedition was a living example of that: they have failed spectacularly at restoring order in the Nexus continent. The new Democratic Nexus Federation has become a corrupt bureaucratic empire with constant raidings from bandits and certain zones governed by warlords and PMCs. It was only thanks to the Royal Knights that some semblance of order was restored, but it wasn't good enough.

And despite his hatred for Chaosdramon and his aristocratic goons at Fracture, he believed to have made the right choice... well, he chose the lesser of two evils in his eyes. With a heavy and steady breath, he perked up at Raijinmon.

"I will accept surrender," He began slowly, "But under one condition: that the Royal Knights and IDDF troops have safe passage to leave the Zone."

"Naturally." Raijinmon conceded gladly, "And I will release all POWs in 48 hours."

"How does that sound, Sire?" Dorbickmon asked the Aloof Hermit.

Alphamon was doubtful and disappointed but he had no right over Sword Zone. At the end of the day, Dorbickmon had the final word.

"Fair enough, colonel." He replied politely.

"Then we have a deal," Raijinmon rose up from his seat and presented his right hand to Dorbickmon, "Colonel."

"Commander." Dorbickmon took his hand in a solid and firm handshake.

"I will proceed with my part of the deal. The paperwork should arrive in 72 hours. In the meantime, I will call off my reinforcements and allow your allies to peacefully leave the Zone."

* * *

 _Autumn's Bridge, 1520 hours._

"The last of the wounded have been loaded, Colonel!" Raymond reported to Richards loudly over the whirlwind of dust and dirt of the MV-22B Ospreys.

"Okay! You get your men on those birds, I'll head back with the convoy!" Richards instructed him, "I'll see you at Tolkien!"

"Roger!" Raymond gave a thumbs up before jogging back toward his company.

As more helicopters swooped in to land on the LZ, the Marines of Alpha Company waited anxiously by the bridge. They've gotten the news of a full retreat two hours ago. The reason behind that order has yet to have been revealed but some men were starting to theorise.

Mikey Kudo rested against a boulder, his rucksack propped up between the rock and his back as a cushion. His rifle, completely covered in gunpowder and dust, laid across his laps, his fingers lightly tapping on its dark surface.

"Staff Sergeant," Kyle called out the platoon sergeant, getting Kudo's attention, "Any idea why we're retreating?"

"No idea, Kyle," The veteran Marine answered frankly, "The only thing I've heard is that we're getting out of this place. The war's over for us."

"So... have we lost, sir?" Kudo asked tentatively.

There was a silent pause before he got a vague answer: "We'll know it soon enough, Marine."

"Fucking great..." Another Marine said bitterly, "We did all of this for nothing!"

"No we didn't," Staff Sergeant Beckers replied firmly," We've held off an entire division and kicked their sorry asses out of the country. We've accomplished our mission and we're still alive. That matters in the end."

"First Platoon!" Lieutenant Browning hollered sternly,"Get off your butts and move it! We are leaving!" He ordered, his men promptly got up, relieved and excited to leave the battlefield, "Come on, Kudo! Wake up, dream warrior!"

"You heard the lieutenant! Double time! Move!" Beckers shouted angrily, getting the Marines to pick up their pace.

Raymond watched pensively as his Marines and the Japanese soldiers boarded the hybrid aircrafts. His tired mind was running with multiple emotions. Anger. Disappointment. A distasteful sense of defeat. He didn't take the ceasefire imposed by the Royal Knights very well; nor did his men. Although he didn't know the official reason behind the order, he was damn sure that the war was over for them and the enemy has won. With a heavy sigh, he walked back toward the Osprey waiting for him.

He climbed up the rear loading ramp and sat down on the last available spot, next to Sullivan. The lieutenant was resting his eyes, clutching his rifle like a teddy bear. He nudged him lightly with his elbow, waking up the officer.

The Osprey jerked and trembled as it took off, its twin tiltrotors spun wildy, creating a wall of dirt and dust around the aircraft. Casually sitting on the edge of the ramp was a crew chief, manning the M2 heavy machine gun.

"Just for a heads-up, lieutenant!" Raymond began, "The colonel will want to see you once all of this over. I've been recommending you for a promotion, officially as my second-in-command." He explained with a proud grin, "Congratulations, captain Sullivan."

The officer stared at his CO with wide eyes, not expecting to get a promotion in the middle of a war. But that also means that Raymond will soon leave the Digital Marines or maybe the Corps, he must take the mantle of commanding Alpha Company, so far the most battle hardened company in the regiment.

"Are you getting transferred, sir?" He couldn't help but ask, mentally not prepared to take over Raymond's place.

"I'm reaching fifteen years of service, Sully, I think I've done plenty for the Corps." The captain replied bluntly, "This is my last deployment..." He then gave a pat on his helmet, "Don't worry, you'll do fine. There's a reason why I've chosen you."

"Thank you, sir." Sullivan responded dumbfounded, still in shock of the news.

Raymond nodded quietly and gazed back at the fleeting battlefield, relaxed and enjoying the scenery.

 _"This is going to be a looong deployment..."_ He thought solemnly.

* * *

 _La Chaîne de Fer, Jade Kingdom- Metal Empire border, 1636 hours._

"To any stations, this is Bravo 4, requesting CASEVAC, do you copy? Over." Park announced through his headset, "To any stations, this is Bravo 4, requesting CASEVAC, do you copy? Please respond. Over." He repeated, getting more desperate by the minute.

The stranded operators of Data Squad and their prisonner, Lucemon, hid under a natural canopy, dug into the barks of a gigantic tree. The rain had been unrelenting in these parts of the Digital World. The group had been on the run for the pass two days, making slow progress due to constant D-Brigade air and ground patrol teams. Once in the clear, or they've assume so, Park decided to make a call to friendly channels.

Marcus took the guard shift, posted about a dozen meters away from the group, overlooking the only dirt path in the forest. Mizuhara was beside the bound digimon, keeping a close eye on the angel.

"Fuck... still no response!" The combat medic swore angrily. He unclipped his helmet and ran a hand through his greasy dark brown undercut hair. "I'm going to try open channels." He told them with determination.

"Are you sure about that?" The marksman asked, slightly alarmed.

"We don't have any options left and we're running out of time. Sooner or later, they'll get us if we continue on foot, without support." Park explained bluntly.

"Don't have much choice now, do we?" Marcus chimed in, looking up to Park with a confident nod.

"Your call, Doc." Mizuhara conceded.

"Damn it... let's just hope that they can't intercept our comms." Park sighed, "Okay, pass me the transceiver."

Mizuhara unstrapped the portable radio post on his back and passed it to him. Park knelt down and modified the transceiver to open channels. "Any stations, any stations, this is Bravo 4. I'm requesting CASEVAC on my position asap. I repeat: this is Bravo 4. I'm requesting CASEVAC on my position asap. Over."

 _"This is Captain Hamill,"_ The radio buzzed in response, almost startling Park, _"US Air Force, callsign: Eagle Eye. Do you copy? Over."_

"Eagle Eye, Bravo 4. We read you 3 out of 5. Over." The medic replied quickly.

 _"Bravo 4, I demand that you identify yourself, your unit as well as your position. Do you understand? Over."_ The American officer instructed straightforwardly.

"This is Master Sergeant Park, Japanese SFG. I've got two others and a HVT with me. We're currently at the border between Jade Kingdom and Metal Empire. How copy? Over."

 _"Solid copy on all, Bravo 4. I'll try to get an eye on your position but we can NOT offer you any support. I've got to contact Overlord and relay your message. Be advised: this may take some time and currently, all combat aircrafts are unavailable. Do you understand?"_

"Bravo 4 acknowledges, Eagle Eye." He replied dreadfully, "We will keep egressing toward Jade Kingdom. Be quick, captain, we've got hostiles on our tail and moving fast. Over."

 _"Copy. Keep progressing and good luck out there, Bravo 4. Eagle Eye, out."_

The transmission ended abruptly. Both Mizuhara and Marcus stared expectantly at him, hoping for a favorable response. But they could immediately see in his eyes that it wasn't the case.

"They're not coming for us, huh?" Marcus asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not yet... The only thing they can do now is looking for us and keeping an eye in the sky over our heads. That's it." Park explained with an exasperated breath.

"Better get a move on then," Mizuhara suggested, standing up and picking up the transceiver, "The sun's going down, so we might as well take advantage of that. Get our infrared strobes up and going as we egress through the mountains."

"Good idea," Park agreed with a nod,"Let's get a move on. Hopefully, they'll come and get us soon enough."

"Let's hope so..."

* * *

 _Camp Dawnstar, Southern Region, 1820 hours._

A numbing headache had been growing for the past thirty six hours. It had been a hectic few days for General Yamamoto. News of a terrorist attack in Japanese soil, in his homeland, have just reached him along with the news of a negociation and cease fire deal that occurred in camp Tolkien without his say or acknowledgment in the matter. In the aftermath of a bloody terrorist attack, he was gathering the necessary information to write up a report to Tokyo.

He picked up his porcelaine white mug and took a big swig of coffee, probably his hundredth since this morning. He told himself that he would get used to the coarse and bitter taste by the time he ran out of sugar cubes but he grimaced and shortly placed it back on his desk.

"Got to find some good coffee after this shitstorm..." He commented to no one in particular. Several hasty knocks broke his train of thoughts. "Enter!"

A sergeant walked in and sharply saluted the general,"Sir, we've got an incoming call from a US Air Force EC-130H, callsign: Eagle Eye. They've come into contact with the missing operators."

"When?!" He asked with urgency, getting up from his desk

"About an hour ago, g-general." The sergeant replied, slightly nervous.

"What?! You're only telling me this NOW!" Yamamoto exclaimed angrily.

"There has been a lot of traffic since the terrorist attack, sir. Comms are constantly cutting out and we still have problems with our antennae." The communications NCO justified dutifully.

"Damn! Get me in contact with Eagle Eye now!"

"Sir!"

* * *

"This was their last known position at 1705 hours, when the transmission ended..." The communications officer reported to Yamamoto, Colonels Legein and West, and Lieutenant Colonel Sturnn after marking Bravo 4's location on a map, "And this..." He took a laptop and placed it on the table. The screen was a live feed from a infrared view of the ground. Three white dots flashed at a constant rythm, "...is Eagle Eye's view, tracking them since 1718 hours."

Yamamoto simply nodded and hummed in approuval, relieved to see the missing operators alive and kicking. He then noticed several clusters of black dots slowly following them, "And these are enemy patrols, correct?"

The captain nodded, "Affirmative, general. Even if we can get an aircraft to get them, they will need to be fast, maximum two minutes if we want to keep the enemy at bay and avoid the continuation of a war." He informed as a matter-of-fact.

"I see... And where are the nearest birds we can get?" Colonel Legein asked curiously.

"Currently... it'll be the MV-22s of the Marines back in Tolkien." The captain answered hesitantly, "They're the fastest birds we've got for an extraction but that does mean that they'll have to cross the entirety of the Metal Empire's southern highlands... without getting caught."

"And how long will that take?" The general inquired.

"About twenty to twenty five minutes, sir."

"What if we took a safer, alternative route?" West proposed.

"That can go up to forty to an hour, sir." The officer answered grimly, "We've got no better options, considering that the Ospreys won't be escorted to maintain a semblance of discretion." He explained frankly.

"But they'll still need support... do we have any SOF units nearby?"

"All units are either on standby here or stationned near the frontline." Sturnn answered, taking a closer look of the map, "We're going to have to use our regulars to form the extraction team. I suggest that we use my paratroopers. They're still combat effective and green on ammo. A platoon will be enough to secure and defend the LZ until the operators get there."

"Sounds like a plan." West conceded, with Legein nodding likewise.

"Alright then. Sturnn, assemble a task force for an extraction mission. You choose whatever unit you want but get them ready in less than thirty minutes."

"Yes sir." The British officer nodded curtly, leaving the command and control room to make a few calls.

"Captain," Yamamoto continued without stopping a beat, "Contact Eagle Eye and relay them about the extraction mission. I want them to have a constant eye on our boys and give them the heads-up when hostiles are near." The general then turned to West, "Find Higgs and see if he can get a Reaper drone up there."

"Consider it done, sir."

* * *

 _La Chaîne de Fer, less than 5 clicks away from Jade Kingdom territory, 1935 hours._

 _"Bravo 4, Eagle Eye. Be advised: two-zero foot mobiles are egressing to your position to your two o'clock, six hundred meters. Over."_

"Copy, Eagle Eye!" Park replied hastilly, "We've been compromised! Interrogative: where the hell's air support? Over!"

"Smoke out!" Mizuhara shouted, throwing a smoke grenade down the slope while Marcus provided cover fire.

Lucemon kept his head down and stayed real close to Park. "Haru! Move up!"

"Roger!" The marksman yelled, turning around and sprinting up the face of the mountain. He jumped over a log and set his DMR up, "Set!"

"Sledge!"

"Moving!" Marcus shouted, spinning around and made a mad dash up the slope.

Enemy rounds and energy projectiles screamed behind him, hitting the ground and trees around him. Thankfully they were far enough to miss every shot, but three men with very limited ammo won't slow them down.

He jumped into a small crater located a couple of meters behind his two brothers-in-ams and took up a firing position. "SET!" He exclaimed, panting heavily and right eye glued behind the EO tech holographic sight.

"Moving! Come on!" Park forcefully grabbed Lucemon by the arm and dragged him further up the mountain.

Mizuhara was deadly efficient with the HK417. Each two-round burst guaranteed a kill. The hostiles were no match for his cold-blood accuracy. Another skull was cracked open. A pink mist of blood and brain matter exploded in the air. Another lifeless body slumped on the ground, rapidly reduced to data particles.

"HARU!" He heard Park's barking.

"Moving!" He fired a couple of pop shots into the darkness and pushed himself off the ground.

Marcus fetched for another frag grenade, pulled the pin and threw it as far down as possible. The hand grenade blasted two hostiles off the ground, dismembering one and lighting a third in flames. He switched back to his primary weapon and laid down cover fire with accurate three-round bursts. Less deadly than the HK417, it was still enough to neutralize a threat. It was one bad guy out of the gunfight.

"Marcus!"

"Moving!"

He jumped to his feet and rushed up. The enemy was getting closer, further suppressing them and reducing their window to maneuver around. Sooner or later, they'll have to make their last stand. He slid behind a tree and resume his role, providing cover fire for Park and the prisonner.

"Set!"

"Right! Moving!"

Obediently, Lucemon followed Park, minding his footing and keeping his head low. Park pushed up the mountain, barking angrily behind him, motivating the digimon through fear and the rush of adrenaline. He swiveled around and fetched for his smoke grenade. Not able to find it, he swore and turned tail and followed Lucemon, sprinting wildly.

"Fuck! Reloading!" Marcus yelled.

"Covering!" Mizuhara shouted in response.

Park found Lucemon hiding behind a large rock barely half a dozen meters away from Marcus's position. "Not there!" He scolded him sternly, "Let's go!" He once again yanked the angel by the arm and dragged him across the forest.

As the operators progressed further through the mountain, more hostile units were closing on them from almost all sides. Soon enough, they were in the cross-fire. All attacks focused down on them, pinning them in a tight spot with very little cover and space to maneuver out.

Park slammed to the ground and crawled his way behind a small boulder. Enemy rounds buzzed just above his head.

"Eagle Eye, this is Bravo 4. Interrogative: where the fuck is **air support?!** " He screamed into his headset's mic, "Be advised: hostiles are crawling all over us! Less than a hundred meters! Over!"

"Frag out!" Marcus hollered as he lobbed a hand grenade over his head.

"Shit! I'm out!" Mizuhara yelled, switching to the USP Compact Tactical. The handgun pumped out .45 ACP rounds , each shot was strong enough to neutralize a threat and leaving them in pain.

"Marcus fall back on me!" Park ordered loudly.

"Copy!" He fetched his smoke grenade and pulled the pin, "Smoke out!" He hurled the grenade a couple of feet away from him. It bounced off a tree and landed closer to him than he would've appreciated.

"Fuck it! Moving!" He pushed himself off the ground and rushed to Park.

He jumped over the rock and took cover behind it, reloading his last mag into the Honey Badger. "I'm on my last mag!"

"Make it count, brother!"

 _"Bravo 4, this is Wyvern 1. Reaper drone is locked and loaded and ready for tasking. How copy? Over."_

Park let out a breath of relief, "Wyvern 1, Bravo 4. Solid copy. Be advised: we will be marking target areas with red smokes. I've got over one-zero-zero soft targets. Read back for check! Over."

 _"Copy, Bravo 4. Target areas will be marked by red smokes. Over one-zero-zero soft targets. Over."_

"Wyvern 1. Be advised: danger close. Bring down the pain. Over and out!"

Shortly after, the drone has acquired its targets, sending a literal hellfire from the heavens. The earth trembled as a terrifying explosion blasted across the mountain. Being so close to the blast, the shockwave rocked everyone off their feet. A second AGM-114M Hellfire missile struck the ground with a violent force, wiping an entire platoon of hostiles. With each drone strike, it cleared a path for the operators on the ground to move out and proceed toward neutral state border.

Fires began to erupt and surge across the forest, hungrily swallowing up trees, rocks and helpless digimon. The missile strikes were effective against the enemy, sending chaos and throwing their ranks into disarray.

"C'mon! We got to move fast!" Park shouted behind him while Marcus covered their retreat.

Mizuhara was taking the lead, closely followed by Lucemon then Park. Marcus threw his last frag grenade down the slope before catching up with the rest of his group. A Sealsdramon threw itself on the grenade, protecting its comrades from the deadly blast. Its chest cavity blew open, eviscerated by the sharpnels.

The group crossed over the border and began the treacherous descent. Despite Wyvern 1's effort, they were overwhelmed by enemy fire, throwing everything at them.

Marcus leaned out of his cover and shot down two hostiles before they got too close. Another flurry of rounds spewed out of the Honey Badger, taking another digimon's life. It soon clicked empty. He swore in frustration and changed to his sidearm.

"I'm out!" He yelled angrily.

"Push forward!" He could hear a digimon order gruffly.

He peered over the rock only to duck a second later as a shower of bullets whizzed all over him.

"FUCK!" he screamed, "Cavalry! Multiple squads!"

Small fireteams of Assaultmon dispersed along the line and suppressed their targets with devastating volume of fire. While they were pinned down, the light infantry rushed towards their position, inching their way while braving through the hellstorm unleashed by the IDDF drone.

Lucemon huddled close to the ground, cupping his ears and closing his eyes in fear, screaming out in an uncontrollable hysteria. The angel prayed desperately to God for protection. He suddenly felt a strong pair of hands grasp his and pulled him off the dirt.

"HEY!" Park barked at his face," You're a digimon, can you fight?" Lucemon gave him no response, gripped by fear, "Hey! Do you want to live, digimon?" He shook him violently. Lucemon nodded anxiously, "Then fucking FIGHT!" He shouted before shoving him to the side. "You see any bastards crawling over there..." He pointed to their left flank, "You smoke 'em!" He issued the command coldly, "Is that clear?!"

"y-y-yes sir!"

"Good! Look alive, stay alive, Cupid!"

Lucemon panted heavily, his digicore beating insanely fast. His whole body trembled like a leaf going through a terrible storm. He took in deep breaths, he then mustered the strenght to summon a holy spear out of thin air, gripping the weapon crisply. His ears rung painfully in his head, a throbbing headache emerged from the loud noises of gunfire and explosions. He has never been in a battlefield before, let alone being exposed to such ferocious violence.

He spotted several silhouettes dashing across his field of vision. He tensed up and kept his eyes wide open. More shadows glided forward, closing toward him, fast.

The angel lifted his divine lance, his left arm outstretched before him to help his aim. Although a sworn pacifist, self-defense courses were mandatory to all digimon angels of the Heavenly Choir in order to fend off raiders and to survive in this increasingly cruel and harsh world. He was trained in non-lethal hand-to-hand combat and archery. But no amount of training have prepared him for this.

Rushing out of cover, a Commandramon draws out his rifle, taking aim at him. Lucemon, with a held breath, launched the spear with a mighty throw. The lance swooped straight for the commando, the tip pierced his body armour and dug deep into his flesh. The Commandramon cried out in pain as he fell on the ground, the divine spear burning the flesh with holy light.

"Help! They're here!" He shouted to the humans before spawning another spear.

With deadly precision and dexterity, he took out another two soldiers before he dove for the ground as bullets flew by him. Driven by his instincts, he crawled toward a crater, unintentionally approaching the enemy. He rolled into the crater and summoned a holy shortsword, frantically looking out for any threats.

Another Commandramon tackled him to the ground from behind, arms wrapped around his neck and head. The angel helplessly swung his sword around, trying to hack at his aggressor. Slowly, he could feel the air escaping his mouth as the arms around him tightened, suffocating him. Acting quickly, he raised his sword, blade pointed downward, and plunged the sword through Commandramon's thick helmet and skull. Instantly, all pressure around his neck disappeared, allowing him an ample volume of oxygen. Lucemon dropped to his knees, gasping greedily for air.

"Birds incoming!" Park yelled, "Let's move out! Cupid, on me!"

To the relief of everyone, two MV-22 Ospreys arrived from the horizon. The hybrid aircrafts soared over the enemy and descended toward their designated LZ. The first to land dropped its cargo ramp, letting out a platoon of Japanese paratroopers rushing out and setting a defensive firing line. Caught off guard by the presence of IDDF troops on the ground, the enemy halted their pursuit and focused fire on them.

Park pratically grabbed and carried Lucemon in his arms, rapidly sliding down the mountain. As usually, Marcus was the last one to follow, emptying his pistol's magazine into the enemy ranks before hopping over a log and sliding down the slope.

"Cover fire! Get those MGs up to the flanks, now!" The company commander bellowed at his men.

He bent down and take aim, firing in short bursts of 7.62mm rounds. The tracer rounds helped the men to distinguish friend from foe but he realized that they were greatly outnumbered. Once he spotted the group of survivors, he ordered his paratroopers to peel off, riposting as they retreat.

The second Osprey in the air pinned the enemy down with a flurry of rounds from the fearsome GAU-17 minigun. The electrical buzz from the door gunner sweeped through the forest and wiping out soldiers with extreme prejudice. Like a buzzsaw, the minigun cut down through the ranks, leaving behind a bloody line of perforated and torn bodies.

With the hostiles effectively suppressed and pinned down, the group of survivors managed to link up with the JGSDF platoon and get on board the Osprey. The Reaper drone sent another volley of missile strikes, sweeping up the remaining D-Brigade forces as they turned tail and ran away.

The extraction was a success.

Inside the extraction bird, the company commander carefully walked up to the three operators. He eyed them before he asked loudly, "Who's the team leader?"

Park reached his hand out, "Master Sergeant "Doc" Park, Bravo Team, Data Squad." He introduced himself formally.

The officer firmly took his hand,"Major Hikagi, 101st Company, 2nd Infantry Battalion, 1st Airborne. Welcome home, son!"

"Thank you, sir!"

"Don't mention it. You guys go get some rest and shower. I'll handle the debrief and the prisonner." The Major told them before giving them one last grin. "By the way..." He began after he turned around, "The war's over, we're pulling out of Sword Zone."

"Did we win?" Marcus asked.

Hikagi gazed at him neutrally. He shook his head and faked a grin, "We gave them hell, I'll give you that!"

Marcus simply nodded in response. He casually leaned back against the racking seat and released a heavy sigh. They went through hell and lost many friends... and for what? It din't sit well with him, and he could tell that his brothers-in-arms thought the same.

 _"It doesn't matter anymore..."_


End file.
